Isthmus Partners LLC Purchases 50 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Isthmus Partners LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,147 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Isthmus Partners LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 3.6 %

LAD opened at $293.90 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $355.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $341.92. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $371.36.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % 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, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.