Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Sold by Arete Wealth Advisors LLC

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 11.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,479 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,102 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $3,031,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total value of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.91.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $306.29 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The stock has a market cap of $8.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.68. The business has a fifty day moving average of $337.08 and a 200-day moving average of $343.34.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. As a group, analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

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.