Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stake Lessened by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 8.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,230 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,000 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned approximately 0.12% of Lithia Motors worth $10,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LAD. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth $80,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Stephens upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $350.80.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $337.81 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 1.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $304.96 and its 200-day moving average is $277.76. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $347.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.88 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, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,235 shares of company stock worth $9,301,973. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

About Lithia Motors

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.