Victory Capital Management Inc. Decreases Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 67.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,131 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,671 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 80.2% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 1st quarter valued at $114,000.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,707.30. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim upgraded Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $326.00.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD opened at $286.44 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $231.36 and a 52-week high of $331.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $277.49 and a 200 day moving average of $270.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.64.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.09 by $0.78. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.26%.

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.