Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer Sells 3,313 Shares

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 3,313 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total value of $1,258,940.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $73,269,320. This trade represents a 1.69 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $371.06 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $319.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $285.13. 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 market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the subject of several research reports. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $353.80.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position 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. FMR LLC grew its position in Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,579 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,981,000 after buying an additional 48,938 shares during the last quarter. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,997,000 after buying an additional 78,784 shares in the last quarter.

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.