Perpetual Ltd Sells 654 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Perpetual Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 98,691 shares of the company’s stock after selling 654 shares during the period. Perpetual Ltd’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $35,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in Lithia Motors by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 23.9% during 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. M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. This represents a 21.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $351.33 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a PEG ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $367.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $321.07. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given 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 0.60%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

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.