147,055 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Purchased by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 147,055 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $42,718,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.67% of Lithia Motors as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 26.8% in the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 156 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 984 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 4.6% during the second quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 842 shares of the company’s stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Occudo Quantitative Strategies LP now owns 4,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 32.1% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 173 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.6%

Lithia Motors stock opened at $369.74 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $239.78 and a one year high of $439.49. The business’s fifty day moving average is $341.26 and its 200 day moving average is $301.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.21.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $10.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.73 by $1.30. The business had revenue of $9.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.64 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 1.88% and a return on equity of 12.16%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $10.24 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 36 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, August 7th were issued a $0.70 dividend. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 9.29%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 165 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.64, for a total value of $50,430.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $513,780.84. The trade was a 8.94% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $325.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $306.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $370.00 to $440.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $417.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $436.33.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.