Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Purchased by Natixis Advisors LLC

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 10.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 157,070 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,794 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $52,199,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 48.8% during the 4th quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 115,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,459,000 after purchasing an additional 37,938 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $125,214,000. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $125,000. Savant Capital LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 36.8% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $480,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 140.7% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 11,396 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,787,000 after acquiring an additional 6,661 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $290.95 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $274.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $298.51. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $239.78 and a 1-year high of $360.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.66 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

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

Lithia Motors declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.11.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $543,905.44. This represents a 11.72% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 617 shares of company stock valued at $174,966. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

About Lithia Motors

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.