Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Sold by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,513 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,783 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. This represents a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,394 shares of company stock worth $16,688,879 over the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $373.74 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $388.36. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $321.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $286.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.76 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.24%.

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.