Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Sells $2,696,800.00 in Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 174,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $69,778,000. This represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD opened at $390.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.22, a PEG ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $332.85 and a 200-day moving average of $290.70. 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 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.25 earnings per share. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company 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. 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 presently 7.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LAD. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $357.60.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth about $217,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $223,000. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castleark Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,722,000.

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.