Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Insider Sells $92,652.12 in Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $390.86 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.34, a P/E/G ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.63. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $330.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $289.79. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $391.14.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $9.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.18 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.54%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after purchasing an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,311,000 after purchasing an additional 120,749 shares in the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,187,000 after purchasing an additional 105,611 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% during the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 87,362 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LAD. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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. boosted their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $357.60.

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.