Vanguard Group Inc. Has $969.21 Million Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,711,609 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,628 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Lithia Motors worth $969,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAD. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $289.16 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.68. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $340.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $342.19.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. Analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LAD. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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 reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.91.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

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

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.