Teacher Retirement System of Texas Has $1.44 Million Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 18.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,031 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 622 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas’ holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,441,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,444.40. The trade was a 18.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 2.2 %

LAD opened at $289.16 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $340.16 and a 200-day moving average of $342.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.68.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $365.91.

Lithia Motors 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.