Ameriprise Financial Inc. Buys 1,062 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,875 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,062 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 0.47% of Lithia Motors worth $44,634,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LAD. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,583 shares of company stock valued at $533,455 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.8%

LAD traded down $2.76 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $322.81. The company had a trading volume of 237,568 shares, compared to its average volume of 315,141. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $8.40 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.04 and a 1-year high of $405.68. The business has a 50-day moving average of $295.91 and a 200-day moving average of $339.62.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.77 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.11 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.55 dividend. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is presently 6.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. 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. Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Lithia Motors from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $361.20.

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.