D.A. Davidson & CO. Reduces Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

D.A. Davidson & CO. decreased its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 90.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,383 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,321 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LAD. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 23.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE LAD opened at $384.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $10.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.12, a P/E/G ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.65. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.67. 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 50-day moving average of $343.36 and a 200-day moving average of $295.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on 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. upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors 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.