Shauna Mcintyre Sells 248 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total value of $72,128.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $295.39 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $349.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $341.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.68. The company has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share 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, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.36.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,194,539 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,968,000 after buying an additional 27,035 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock valued at $239,204,000 after buying an additional 85,579 shares during the period. Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 510,388 shares of the company’s stock valued at $182,428,000 after buying an additional 11,674 shares during the period. Steadfast Capital Management LP increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 137.8% during the fourth quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP now owns 460,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,524,000 after buying an additional 266,715 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $152,752,000.

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.