Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,804 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.6 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $382.00 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $344.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.23. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04, a P/E/G ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.65.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 23.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,067 shares of company stock worth $20,933,294 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.60.

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.