835 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Purchased by Sage Investment Counsel LLC

Sage Investment Counsel LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in 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 boosted its holdings in 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 boosted its holdings in 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. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in 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. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $202,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim lifted 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. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD stock opened at $344.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $360.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $339.67. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. Analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

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.