Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Acquires 1,082 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,345 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.07% of Lithia Motors worth $6,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 8,625 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,083,000 after acquiring an additional 2,580 shares during the period. Anomaly Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at about $11,846,000. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 18,003 shares of the company's stock worth $6,435,000 after purchasing an additional 738 shares in the last quarter. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,077,000. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 15,009 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,365,000 after buying an additional 1,181 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,583 shares of company stock valued at $533,455. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on LAD. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $361.20.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.8 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $296.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $7.78 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.04 and a fifty-two week high of $405.68. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $299.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $340.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The business's revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.11 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

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

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.

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