Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Bought by Westwood Holdings Group Inc.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,405 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,126 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of Lithia Motors worth $17,774,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LAD. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at about $961,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 30,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,971,000 after purchasing an additional 2,601 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $318,000. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 35.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,521,000 after purchasing an additional 1,198 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 34.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 100,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,147,000 after purchasing an additional 25,523 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD opened at $299.70 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $279.90 and its 200-day moving average is $271.16. The stock has a market cap of $8.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.64. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.36 and a twelve month high of $331.96.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $326.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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.