Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Purchased by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,305 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 63 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,539,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 11.7% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $649,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.2% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 92,922 shares of the company’s stock valued at $33,213,000 after acquiring an additional 10,846 shares in the last quarter. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at about $91,190,000. Vestcor Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at about $771,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on 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 Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target 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.com, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $306.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $345.07 and its two-hundred 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 stock has a market capitalization of $8.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724. Insiders own 0.87% 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.