XTX Topco Ltd Has $445,000 Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

XTX Topco Ltd increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 50.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,762 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 590 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $445,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 49,797 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,397,000 after buying an additional 9,818 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 132.9% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,758,000 after buying an additional 10,920 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth $607,000. Comerica Bank grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 89.0% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,867,000 after buying an additional 13,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 11.2% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 203,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,318,000 after acquiring an additional 20,416 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,707.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617 over the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $326.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $313.95 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $281.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $271.29. The stock has a market cap of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.64. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $231.36 and a 1-year high of $331.96. 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6.26%.

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.