Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Purchased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,375 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,952 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.07% of Lithia Motors worth $6,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth approximately $80,000.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded up $2.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $370.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 66,618 shares, compared to its average volume of 257,875. The stock has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $375.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $309.57 and a 200-day moving average of $280.34.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. Lithia Motors's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.99 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. This 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,235 shares of company stock worth $9,301,973 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on LAD. Citigroup increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com cut Lithia Motors from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Stephens increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $353.80.

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.