Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Position Trimmed by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,692 shares of the company’s stock after selling 395 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $3,464,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th 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. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 49.3% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on LAD. Stephens increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 11,627 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $4,534,530.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 181,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,662,930. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,097 shares of company stock worth $7,904,969 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $364.78 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.67. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $363.12 and a 200-day moving average of $337.17.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS 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 analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

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.