Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Invests $217,000 in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 683 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Lithia Motors by 1.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Versor Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.0% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 21.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $357.00 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $356.83 and its 200-day moving average is $304.20. The stock has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.59%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LAD shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.