US Bancorp DE Lowers Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

US Bancorp DE cut its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,572 shares of the company’s stock after selling 112 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $499,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised 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 buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at $80,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LAD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 3.1 %

LAD opened at $382.84 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $312.61 and a 200-day moving average price of $282.34. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $388.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 1.63.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $13,417,080.94. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 31,235 shares of company stock worth $9,301,973. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.