Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 37,194 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,294,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned 0.14% of Lithia Motors as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,657 shares of the company's stock worth $526,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $248,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.5% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,110 shares of the company's stock worth $987,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at $268,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at $221,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD traded down $1.95 on Wednesday, reaching $316.15. The company had a trading volume of 745,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 393,681. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company's fifty day moving average is $358.44 and its 200 day moving average is $341.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Remove Ads

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $371.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

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.