Verition Fund Management LLC Increases Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1,960.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 126,909 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 120,749 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $40,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the 2nd 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. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth approximately $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $80,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 174,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,778,000. This represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294 over the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $386.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $338.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $292.90. The stock has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LAD. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.