Madison Investment Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 255,125 Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 255,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $91,190,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC owned 0.96% of Lithia Motors at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of 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 during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company's stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company's stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the company's stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LAD. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE:LAD traded up $7.60 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $303.11. The stock had a trading volume of 269,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 294,424. The company has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.68. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $349.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $341.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 7.14%.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

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.