River Road Asset Management LLC Purchases 78,784 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

River Road Asset Management LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 365,184 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 78,784 shares during the period. Lithia Motors makes up about 1.5% of River Road Asset Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 1.37% of Lithia Motors worth $115,997,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth about $35,000. 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. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $80,000.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % 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, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,235 shares of company stock worth $9,301,973. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on LAD shares. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE LAD traded up $6.42 on Tuesday, hitting $350.50. 360,017 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 257,379. The business's fifty day moving average is $305.81 and its 200 day moving average is $278.46. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $351.02. The company has a market capitalization of $9.34 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Lithia Motors's revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.25 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

Lithia Motors 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.