Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Acquired by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,862 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $975,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,823,369 shares of the company’s stock worth $929,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,962 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,390,000 after purchasing an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,981,000 after purchasing an additional 48,938 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 260,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,756,000 after purchasing an additional 5,390 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.8 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $315.37 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.36 and a fifty-two week high of $331.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.59.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $10.91 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on LAD. Citigroup boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Lithia Motors from $302.00 to $299.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $337.70.

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.