Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Sold by Eventide Asset Management LLC

Eventide Asset Management LLC decreased its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 214,882 shares of the company’s stock after selling 30,808 shares during the quarter. Lithia Motors makes up 1.2% of Eventide Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Eventide Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $68,255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after acquiring an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after acquiring an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after acquiring an additional 85,579 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 27.5% in the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,997,000 after acquiring an additional 78,784 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.1% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 260,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,756,000 after acquiring an additional 5,390 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at $661,964.94. This trade represents a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 23.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,067 shares of company stock worth $20,933,294 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $386.16 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $338.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $292.90. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $9.25 EPS. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on LAD shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” 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.