Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Purchased by Ensign Peak Advisors Inc

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 0.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,609 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned 0.26% of Lithia Motors worth $18,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Cadian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $105,370,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after buying an additional 203,543 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,609,000 after buying an additional 87,362 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 413.6% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 65,142 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,450,000 after buying an additional 52,458 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 7.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,981,000 after acquiring an additional 48,938 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com cut Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Stephens began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $326.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617 over the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $306.94 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $8.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.64. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.36 and a twelve month high of $331.96. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $280.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $271.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $10.91 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.26%.

Lithia Motors 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.