Cerity Partners LLC Invests $423,000 in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,285 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $423,000.

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

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 135 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.84, for a total value of $40,208.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $495,010.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 3.8 %

NYSE:LAD opened at $257.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.58. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $206.69 and a one year high of $331.96. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $284.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $283.85.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.85 by ($1.74). The company had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.58 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 3.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $8.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.78 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 5.51%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on LAD. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Craig Hallum lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $320.82.

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.