Insider Selling: Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Sells 270 Shares of Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at $362,444.40. This trade represents a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 3.4 %

LAD stock opened at $295.39 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $349.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $341.83. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.68. The company has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on LAD shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.36.

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.