Raymond James & Associates Grows Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 10.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,161 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.12% of Lithia Motors worth $10,851,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at $116,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD traded up $1.87 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $341.12. 237,070 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 256,899. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $233.88 and a 52-week high of $341.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average of $302.12 and a 200-day moving average of $276.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.64 and a beta of 1.64.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $9.25 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $350.80.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,541 shares of company stock valued at $9,390,606 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.79% 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.