PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Acquires 51 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,257 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $807,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after acquiring an additional 85,579 shares during the period. Tensile Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the third quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $83,071,000 after purchasing an additional 6,252 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,560,000 after purchasing an additional 37,677 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,966,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 208,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,436,000 after buying an additional 2,108 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.6 %

LAD opened at $303.11 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.21, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $348.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $341.82.

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

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.14%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on LAD. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $371.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,444.40. This represents a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total value of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724 in the last ninety days. 1.79% 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.