Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock Position Lowered by Burney Co.

Burney Co. lowered its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 31.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,193 shares of the company’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $426,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. Versor Investments LP boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,560,000 after buying an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in Lithia Motors by 22.9% in the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,774,000 after buying an additional 13,126 shares during the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 118.9% in the second quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,609,000 after buying an additional 87,362 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at $731,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LAD. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.40.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $351.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $368.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $319.42. The company has a market capitalization of $9.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $9.25 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.24%.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors 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.