Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer Sells 11,627 Shares

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 11,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were 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 directly owns 181,187 shares in the company, valued at $70,662,930. This trade represents a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD traded up $3.38 on Monday, reaching $394.24. The stock had a trading volume of 872,083 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,671. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $330.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $289.79. The company has a market cap of $10.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The company 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%. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $9.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 20,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,084,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 8.1% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,580,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the first quarter worth approximately $206,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.6% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,083 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,537,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on LAD. Citigroup boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. One research 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.