Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Acquires Shares of 94 Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 94 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in Lithia Motors by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $281.31 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.68. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $334.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $343.34. The company has a market capitalization of $7.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.48, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were 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 owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,219.48. This trade represents a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724 over the last three months. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $365.91.

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.