Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 43,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $12,659,000. Osterweis Capital Management Inc. owned 0.17% of Lithia Motors as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vident Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 780 shares of the company's stock worth $279,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.5% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,421 shares of the company's stock valued at $711,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.1% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 844 shares of the company's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,245 shares of the company's stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the period.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total value of $75,020.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at $403,236.80. This trade represents a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $364.00 to $317.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 30th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $340.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $370.45.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Lithia Motors
Lithia Motors Stock Performance
NYSE:LAD traded up $2.58 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $334.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 45,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 332,371. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $262.10 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The firm's 50 day moving average is $319.37 and its 200-day moving average is $313.35. The firm has a market cap of $8.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.93, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.31.
Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.78 by $0.46. The company had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.56 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 2.39%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, August 26th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Lithia Motors Announces Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.52%.
About Lithia Motors
(
Free Report)
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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