Marshall Wace LLP Raises Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD – Get Rating) by 2,337.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,247 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,129 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $5,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $46,000. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 120.6% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 236 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Wipfli Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth $74,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 116.8% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 412 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. 98.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 3.6 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $246.02 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $250.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.77. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $180.00 and a twelve month high of $341.00. The company has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.58, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported $9.05 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $10.11 by ($1.06). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 4.43% and a return on equity of 25.41%. The firm had revenue of $6.99 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $11.39 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 35.01 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 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.81%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 167 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $43,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,672 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $434,720. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LAD. TheStreet raised Lithia Motors from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Guggenheim cut their price target on Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $332.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Lithia Motors from $200.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Tuesday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $233.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $301.89.

About Lithia Motors

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Lithia Motors, Inc engages in the operation of automotive franchises and retail of new and used vehicles. It operates through the following segments: Domestic, Import and Luxury. The Domestic segment consists of retail automotive franchises that sell new vehicles manufactured by Chrysler, General Motors, and Ford.