Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,789 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LAD. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total value of $72,128.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 3.4 %

NYSE:LAD opened at $295.39 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $349.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $341.83.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

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.