New York Life Investment Management LLC Purchases 193 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,062 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,150,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 32.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.3% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,113 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,054,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 11,886 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.2% during the third quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $918,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 138 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $254.42, for a total transaction of $35,109.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 2,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $566,847.76. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lithia Motors from $285.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $375.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $297.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $318.55.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD opened at $263.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.78, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $278.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $283.21. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $207.08 and a 1-year high of $331.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported $6.11 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $7.85 by ($1.74). The business had revenue of $8.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.58 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.87% and a return on equity of 15.62%. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 22.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.44 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 32.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This is a boost from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 5.90%.

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.