Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock Position Decreased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp decreased its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 12.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,027 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,348 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.06% of Lithia Motors worth $6,086,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,778,000. This represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,470 shares of company stock worth $3,370,439. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD traded down $10.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $350.44. The company had a trading volume of 301,930 shares, compared to its average volume of 400,004. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $362.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $337.85. The stock has a market cap of $9.33 billion, a PE ratio of 11.81, a P/E/G ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is 7.14%.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer worldwide. It operates in two segments, Vehicle Operations and Financing Operations. The company's Vehicle Operations segment sells new and used vehicles; provides parts, repair, and maintenance services; vehicle finance; and insurance products. Its Financing Operations segment provides financing to customers buying and leasing retail vehicles.