Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys Shares of 4,084 Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,084 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,345,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,807,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $829,112,000 after acquiring an additional 10,649 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% during the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 678,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $200,414,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 10.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 492,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,383,000 after acquiring an additional 45,977 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.3% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 247,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,098,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.4% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 126,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,230,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Bank of America raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $298.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $334.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total transaction of $40,208.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at $495,010.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.4 %

LAD stock opened at $264.58 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.69 and a twelve month high of $331.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $285.95 and its 200-day moving average is $284.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.28 billion, a PE ratio of 7.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.58.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 14th. The company reported $8.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.11 by $0.13. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 3.22%. The company had revenue of $7.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.05 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Saturday, March 9th were issued a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 5.51%.

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.