Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Bought by Tectonic Advisors LLC

Tectonic Advisors LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,247 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Tectonic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $421,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 10,136,710.0% in the first quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 2,027,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,112,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027,342 shares in the last quarter. Park West Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the first quarter valued at approximately $58,825,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 1,840.6% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 181,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,359,000 after acquiring an additional 172,410 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter worth $36,762,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter worth $32,824,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total value of $75,020.80. Following the sale, the director owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at $403,236.80. This trade represents a 15.69% 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. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.50.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $298.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $320.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $315.09. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $262.10 and a 1 year high of $405.67. The stock has a market cap of $7.65 billion, a PE ratio of 8.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 1.28.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.78 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.21%. The company had revenue of $9.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.56 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, August 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.52%.

Lithia Motors Company 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.