Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Buys 2,369 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 232.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,390 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,369 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 106.2% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $55,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 212 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 50.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 29.1% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on LAD shares. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $383.00 to $380.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $378.00 to $383.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $317.00 to $327.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $381.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 256 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $293.05, for a total value of $75,020.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $403,236.80. The trade was a 15.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 1.7%

NYSE:LAD opened at $310.99 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $321.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $315.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 0.29. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $262.10 and a one year high of $405.67. The company has a market cap of $7.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.65 and a beta of 1.28.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.78 by $0.46. The firm had revenue of $9.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.56 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.21%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.52%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, August 26th that permits the company to repurchase $750.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.