Tina Miller Sells 1,000 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $386.16 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $336.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $292.25. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $9.25 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Stephens increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.60.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,580,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter worth $206,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,537,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 89.0% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.2% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 93,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,469,000 after acquiring an additional 10,141 shares during the period.

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.