Proficio Capital Partners LLC Invests $13.29 Million in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 37,194 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,294,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its position in Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,579 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 27.5% during 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. Tensile Capital Management LP raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.4% in the third quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,071,000 after buying an additional 6,252 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the third 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 during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,714 shares of the company’s stock worth $84,966,000 after buying an additional 3,558 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE:LAD opened at $344.10 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The company has a market cap of $9.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $360.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $340.54.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.62%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Company 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.