Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,461 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $2,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $232,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,560,000 after buying an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 46.9% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 75,984 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,136,000 after buying an additional 24,258 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 95,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,585,000 after buying an additional 2,261 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,466.16. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com cut Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $361.45.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD stock opened at $342.32 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.67. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $369.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $316.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $9.25 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

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.