5,651 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Bought by Rare Wolf Capital LLC

Rare Wolf Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,878,000. Lithia Motors comprises 1.2% of Rare Wolf Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 1,032 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 67.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,272,000 after purchasing an additional 45,716 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,349,000 after purchasing an additional 13,407 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 16.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at approximately $651,000.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,905.44. This trade represents a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the sale, the director directly owned 760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Zacks Research raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $293.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.11.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of LAD stock opened at $294.95 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $360.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 10.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $284.72 and a 200-day moving average of $298.32.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.66 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 8th were given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.01%.

Lithia Motors Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.