Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 95,899 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,261 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $29,585,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth about $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $80,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $357.00 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $356.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $304.20. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.25 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,466.16. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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.