Investment House LLC Invests $2.08 Million in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Investment House LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 6,322 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,082,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,702 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,500,000 after buying an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. California First Leasing Corp lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.3% during the fourth quarter. California First Leasing Corp now owns 9,779 shares of the company's stock worth $3,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 47,207 shares of the company's stock worth $15,544,000 after purchasing an additional 6,485 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Xponance Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company's stock worth $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,010.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Craig Hallum cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $320.82.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of LAD traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $261.35. 255,865 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 224,909. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.69 and a 52 week high of $331.96. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $282.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $283.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $7.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.72, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.58.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.85 by ($1.74). The business had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.58 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 15.59% and a net margin of 2.87%. Lithia Motors's revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $8.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 33.17 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a boost from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.81%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is currently 5.90%.

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.