Vestcor Inc Makes New Investment in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Vestcor Inc purchased a new position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $771,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in 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 last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $113,250,000. Forge First Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $1,901,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 22.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 501 shares of the company’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 82.7% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 2,330 shares of the company’s stock worth $833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 3.4 %

NYSE LAD opened at $295.39 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $349.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.83. The company has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. Equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business’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 value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. The trade was 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 valued at $433,724. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.