Venturi Wealth Management LLC Buys 291 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 34.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,139 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $407,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the 4th 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. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $360.65 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $362.73 and its 200 day moving average is $337.33. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,778,000. This represents a 3.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, 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 sold 8,470 shares of company stock valued at $3,370,439. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LAD. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.36.

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.