Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Invests $12.06 Million in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 33,752 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,063,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned 0.13% of Lithia Motors at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD traded up $7.85 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $304.68. 67,712 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 304,343. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $337.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $343.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.68.

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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 for the quarter, beating 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 forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 7.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on LAD shares. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $365.91.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares of the company's stock, valued at $362,444.40. The trade was a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724. Insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

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.