Tidal Investments LLC Has $1.25 Million Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 19.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,927 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 648 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after buying an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,311,000 after purchasing an additional 120,749 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,187,000 after purchasing an additional 105,611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 87,362 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised shares of 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 note on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.60.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on 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 approximately $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596 in the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $357.00 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18, a PEG ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $356.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $304.20.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $9.25 EPS. Research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

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

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.