Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) is Harfst & Associates Inc.’s 6th Largest Position

Harfst & Associates Inc. decreased its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 12.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,323 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,463 shares during the period. Lithia Motors makes up approximately 2.3% of Harfst & Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Harfst & Associates Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Lithia Motors worth $10,838,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 33.9% in 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 49.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. 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 report on Wednesday, February 19th. 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.36.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $344.86 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $360.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $339.64. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

About Lithia Motors

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.