The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Posted by Brenda Bartman on Jul 31st, 2026

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD – Free Report) by 22.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 159,363 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 29,308 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $39,796,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 13.9% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,474 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,487,000 after purchasing an additional 1,032 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 67.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 113,346 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,272,000 after buying an additional 45,716 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 93,170 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,349,000 after buying an additional 13,407 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 16.2% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,430 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the period. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth about $651,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $414.70.

Get Our Latest Report on Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Lithia Motors this week:

Positive Sentiment: Quarterly earnings beat estimates. Lithia reported adjusted EPS of $10.03, above the $8.73 consensus, while revenue reached a record $9.8 billion, exceeding expectations and increasing 2.2% year over year. Stronger used-vehicle margins, aftersales performance and financing income helped offset mixed sales trends. LAD Q2 Earnings Beat on Used Margins and Financing Growth
Positive Sentiment: Profitability and capital returns improved. Used retail gross profit per vehicle increased 20% sequentially, aftersales gross margin rose to 59.2%, and financing operations produced record income of $37 million. Lithia also repurchased $242 million of stock during the quarter and raised its quarterly dividend 23% to $0.70 per share. Lithia & Driveway Second-Quarter Results
Positive Sentiment: Benchmark became more bullish. Benchmark raised its price target from $400 to $475 and assigned a “buy” rating, citing potential upside after the earnings performance. Benchmark price-target update
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views remain mixed. Wells Fargo lifted its target from $306 to $395 but retained an “equal weight” rating. The broader brokerage consensus is “moderate buy,” indicating support for the business but less certainty about additional gains after the recent rally. Brokerage consensus recommendation
Negative Sentiment: Valuation and profit-taking are weighing on shares. One analysis concluded that LAD could be roughly 15% above fair value after the earnings beat. The retreat from the record high suggests investors may be locking in gains and questioning how much of the improved results is already reflected in the stock. Lithia Motors Could Be 15% Above Fair Value

Lithia Motors Trading Down 4.8%

LAD opened at $406.81 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $239.78 and a 12 month high of $439.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.49, a PEG ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $311.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $295.39.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.73 by $1.30. The company had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.16% and a net margin of 1.88%.Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $10.24 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.70 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 7th. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 9.29%.

Lithia Motors declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to buyback $500.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 7.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total transaction of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. The trade was a 28.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total transaction of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $513,780.84. This represents a 8.94% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 782 shares of company stock worth $229,572. 1.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.