Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock Holdings Lifted by Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,468 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,043,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth approximately $123,976,000. Cadian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $105,370,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Lithia Motors by 413.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 65,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,450,000 after purchasing an additional 52,458 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its position in Lithia Motors by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 82,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,734,000 after purchasing an additional 33,405 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 262,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $86,470,000 after purchasing an additional 31,670 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on LAD shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $270.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Monday, June 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $319.45.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded down $4.43 on Friday, reaching $247.27. The stock had a trading volume of 46,474 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,480. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $257.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.17. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.36 and a fifty-two week high of $331.96. The stock has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 15.62% and a net margin of 2.87%. The firm had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.44 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.79 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.42, for a total transaction of $35,109.96. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $566,847.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.