Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Invests $847,000 in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,369 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $847,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th 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 during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.91.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.4 %

LAD opened at $281.31 on Monday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $334.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $343.74. The firm has a market cap of $7.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724 in the last 90 days. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.