Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Boosts Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 120.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,549 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,488 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,445,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth about $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE LAD opened at $372.58 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market cap of $9.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.72 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $317.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $284.37. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $388.36.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.25 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on LAD. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded 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 research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $353.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 50,394 shares of company stock valued at $16,688,879. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.