Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 51.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,472 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 839 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after acquiring an additional 217,867 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares during the period. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 87,362 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 27.5% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,997,000 after buying an additional 78,784 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 7.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,981,000 after buying an additional 48,938 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $353.80.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,394 shares of company stock worth $16,688,879. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.4 %

LAD stock opened at $371.06 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $319.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $285.13. The company has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $388.36.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.25 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.