Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Buys New Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $731,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,580,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,537,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 89.0% in the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,867,000 after purchasing an additional 13,875 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 93,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,469,000 after purchasing an additional 10,141 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 26.6% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 57,279 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,233,000 after purchasing an additional 12,035 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock worth $20,933,294 over the last three months. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD opened at $386.16 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $336.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $292.25. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.67. The stock has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.60.

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.