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

Bailard Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 1,402 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $501,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on LAD. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the company’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 transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $317.96 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $359.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $341.18. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67.

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 net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. As a group, research 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 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 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.