Rakuten Securities Inc. Buys 142 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1,420.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 152 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $54,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 297 shares of the company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $298.50 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $352.73 and its 200 day moving average is $341.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.36.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the business’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 sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.