Peak Retirement Planning Inc. Purchases New Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Peak Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,435 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $874,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $91,190,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 208,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,436,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 497.7% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,676 shares of the company's stock worth $1,314,000 after acquiring an additional 3,061 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,073.7% during the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the company's stock valued at $990,000 after purchasing an additional 2,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on LAD. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $361.20.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total transaction of $99,731.78. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $482,974.08. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,444.40. The trade was a 18.21% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 855 shares of company stock worth $252,536 over the last three months. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE LAD traded down $1.90 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $311.97. The company had a trading volume of 104,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 316,266. The stock has a market cap of $8.12 billion, a PE ratio of 10.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.04 and a one year high of $405.68. 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 fifty day moving average price is $299.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $337.12.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analysts' expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $6.11 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.55 dividend. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 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.