Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 208,529 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,296 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.76% of Lithia Motors worth $68,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,807,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $829,112,000 after purchasing an additional 10,649 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% in the third quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 678,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $200,414,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 10.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 492,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,383,000 after acquiring an additional 45,977 shares during the last quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.3% during the third quarter. Eventide Asset Management LLC now owns 247,514 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,098,000 after acquiring an additional 3,234 shares during the period. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 0.4% in the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 126,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,230,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.42, for a total value of $35,109.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 2,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $566,847.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $274.73 on Wednesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $207.08 and a 1 year high of $331.96. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $284.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.11, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.59.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.85 by ($1.74). Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 15.62%. The company had revenue of $8.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $8.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.77%. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $375.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $290.00 to $248.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $334.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $318.55.

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.