Inspire Advisors LLC Decreases Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Inspire Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 8.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 706 shares of the company’s stock after selling 66 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $252,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Isthmus Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Isthmus Partners LLC now owns 1,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $298.50 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $352.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $341.96. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

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.