Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CFO Sells $392,720.00 in Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD traded down $4.83 on Wednesday, reaching $386.16. 150,370 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 261,999. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a 50-day moving average of $334.99 and a 200-day moving average of $291.59.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $9.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LAD. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.60.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000.

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.