Moran Wealth Management LLC Raises Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,971 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Lithia Motors worth $7,297,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth about $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth about $80,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target 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. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $353.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 3,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $1,258,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,269,320. The trade was a 1.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. This trade represents a 20.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,394 shares of company stock valued at $16,688,879. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.2 %

LAD opened at $371.54 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $388.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $326.09 and a 200 day moving average of $287.84.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Lithia Motors 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.