Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $13.31 Million in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 37,226 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,306,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Lithia Motors at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company's stock worth $239,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,579 shares in the last quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company's stock worth $83,071,000 after purchasing an additional 6,252 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company's stock worth $82,560,000 after purchasing an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,714 shares of the company's stock worth $84,966,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 208,253 shares of the company's stock worth $74,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter.

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Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.5 %

LAD traded up $1.43 on Friday, reaching $306.45. 295,508 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 295,439. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $345.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $341.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.68. The company has a market cap of $8.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total value of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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. Insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $371.36.

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.