Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer Sells 11,627 Shares

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 11,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $4,534,530.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 181,187 shares in the company, valued at $70,662,930. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:LAD opened at $394.24 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $330.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $289.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.18 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 7.24%.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,390,000 after acquiring an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,311,000 after purchasing an additional 120,749 shares during the period. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,187,000 after purchasing an additional 105,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 118.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,609,000 after buying an additional 87,362 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $357.60.

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.