HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 1,055 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 82.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,330 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,055 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LAD. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after buying an additional 85,579 shares in the last quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 6,252 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,966,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 208,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,436,000 after purchasing an additional 2,108 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,219.48. The trade was a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $295.60 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $341.41 and a 200 day moving average of $342.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $7.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.91.

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.