FORA Capital LLC Purchases 282 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

FORA Capital LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 13.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,332 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 282 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $834,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 56.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after buying an additional 908 shares during the last quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 91.1% in the 4th quarter. Driehaus Capital Management LLC now owns 142,124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,799,000 after acquiring an additional 67,769 shares in the last quarter. Dean Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,522,000. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, Centiva Capital LP boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 79.2% during the fourth quarter. Centiva Capital LP now owns 5,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after purchasing an additional 2,411 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $306.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $295.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $339.73. The stock has a market cap of $7.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.04 and a fifty-two week high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.77 by ($0.11). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.11 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.93%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LAD. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $415.00 to $375.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $361.20.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total transaction of $99,731.78. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,632 shares in the company, valued at approximately $482,974.08. This represents a 17.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,583 shares of company stock worth $533,455. 0.87% of the stock is owned by 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.