Sendero Wealth Management LLC Acquires 604 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Sendero Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,638 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. Sendero Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $4,875,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 1.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE LAD opened at $362.75 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $369.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.45. The stock has a market cap of $9.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.38, a PEG ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.73.

Lithia Motors 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.