Insider Selling: Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Sells $80,676.00 in Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $362,444.40. This represents a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 3.4 %

Lithia Motors stock opened at $295.39 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average of $349.24 and a 200-day moving average of $341.83.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAD. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $371.36.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,194,539 shares of the company’s stock worth $426,968,000 after purchasing an additional 27,035 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,579 shares in the last quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 510,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $182,428,000 after purchasing an additional 11,674 shares in the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 137.8% in the fourth quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 460,298 shares of the company’s stock worth $164,524,000 after purchasing an additional 266,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $152,752,000.

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.