180 Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 1,944 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

180 Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 31.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,087 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,944 shares during the quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,555,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 10,136,710.0% during the first quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 2,027,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,112,000 after buying an additional 2,027,342 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,873,000 after acquiring an additional 33,966 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 479,537 shares of the company’s stock valued at $162,022,000 after acquiring an additional 11,859 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $148,540,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 412,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,356,000 after purchasing an additional 86,121 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $651,600. This trade represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Bank of America dropped 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Barclays started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 price objective on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $389.10.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $344.46 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $319.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $321.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $262.10 and a 12-month high of $405.14. The company has a market cap of $8.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.97 and a beta of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.42%. The business had revenue of $9.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.21 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 4.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th were issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.37%.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.