Blair William & Co. IL Invests $223,000 in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Blair William & Co. IL acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 50.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.1% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 6.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,042 shares of the company’s stock valued at $599,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 2,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total transaction of $75,020.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $403,236.80. This trade represents a 15.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $310.99 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $262.10 and a 12 month high of $405.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $321.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $315.55.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.78 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.21% and a net margin of 2.39%.The company had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.56 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that allows the company to buyback $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. Bank of America reduced their price target on Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $381.00.

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.