Rakuten Securities Inc. Acquires 142 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1,420.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 152 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $54,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,579 shares during the period. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $113,250,000. Tensile Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the third quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,071,000 after purchasing an additional 6,252 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,560,000 after purchasing an additional 37,677 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,966,000 after purchasing an additional 3,558 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $298.50 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $352.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $341.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The firm has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.06, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LAD. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.36.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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.