Janus Henderson Group PLC Raises Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 16,320 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 738 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $5,832,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Red Spruce Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 9,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,253,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,073.7% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,770 shares of the company’s stock valued at $990,000 after acquiring an additional 2,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,696 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,679,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 337 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.94, for a total value of $99,731.78. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $482,974.08. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,444.40. The trade was a 18.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 855 shares of company stock valued at $252,536. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently commented on LAD. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $397.00 to $308.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $361.20.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $323.64 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.04 and a 1-year high of $405.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $297.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $339.30.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.77 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.11 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be paid a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 9th. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.93%.

About Lithia Motors

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.