Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Raises Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,194,539 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,035 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $426,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on LAD. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. 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. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $365.91.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $288.27 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.68. The firm has a market cap of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50-day moving average is $314.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current 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 paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

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.