Sage Rhino Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 594 Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LAD. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,505,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,311,000 after purchasing an additional 120,749 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,187,000 after purchasing an additional 105,611 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at about $26,071,000.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $324.51 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The company has a market cap of $8.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $360.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $340.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. Research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Lithia Motors Profile

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.