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

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,275 shares of the company’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 1.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 raised its position in shares of 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. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at $10,744,821.34. This represents a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 0.1 %

LAD opened at $359.98 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $360.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.58. 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 stock has a market cap of $9.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.29, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 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.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The company 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $9.25 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.