Leonteq Securities AG Buys 6,285 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Leonteq Securities AG raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LADFree Report) by 570.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,386 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,285 shares during the period. Leonteq Securities AG’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LAD. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $338,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.9% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the first quarter valued at $1,748,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.8% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, OP Asset Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter worth about $1,983,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the transaction, the director owned 760 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,233.20. This represents a 28.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572 in the last quarter. 1.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. They set a “buy” rating and a $348.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $368.11.

Get Our Latest Stock Analysis on LAD

Lithia Motors Trading Up 5.9%

NYSE LAD opened at $307.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 10.79, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.26. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $360.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $288.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $295.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LADGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.49%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.66 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 8th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 8th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.01%.

About Lithia Motors

(Free Report)

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD)

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