Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 10.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,496 shares of the company’s stock after selling 635 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 38,698 shares of company stock valued at $13,309,244. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on LAD shares. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $390.86 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $330.58 and its 200-day moving average price is $289.79. The company has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $391.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

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

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.