Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer Sells 11,627 Shares

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 11,627 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total value of $4,534,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 181,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,662,930. This represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $390.73 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $332.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $290.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company has a market cap of $10.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67.

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, 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 company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 20,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,084,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 8.1% during the first quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $314,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,580,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 15,083 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,537,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LAD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.60.

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.