Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 95,899 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,261 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.36% of Lithia Motors worth $29,585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Lithia Motors by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC grew 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 buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP grew its position in Lithia Motors by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $661,964.94. This represents a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 21.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 in the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $357.00 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $356.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $304.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.51 billion, a PE ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $9.25 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Stephens boosted their price objective 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. raised their target price 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.