Comerica Bank Increases Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 27.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,295 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,739 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank owned approximately 0.14% of Lithia Motors worth $12,973,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in 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 during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised 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 valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on LAD shares. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $361.20.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,583 shares of company stock worth $533,455. Insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $296.12 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $340.08. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.04 and a 1 year high of $405.68.

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

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is a boost from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is currently 6.93%.

Lithia Motors Company 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.

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