887 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Acquired by Townsquare Capital LLC

Townsquare Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 887 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $317,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total value of $72,128.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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 restated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $361.20.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $292.54. 508,177 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 312,429. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $305.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $340.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.04 and a 12 month high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. This is an increase from Lithia Motors's previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.