Isthmus Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,147 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $293.90 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $355.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $341.92. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.67. The company has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on LAD. Guggenheim upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.36.

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.