Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD Shares Sold by Chicago Capital LLC

Chicago Capital LLC trimmed its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 5.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,008 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,714 shares during the quarter. Lithia Motors makes up approximately 1.5% of Chicago Capital LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Chicago Capital LLC owned 0.73% of Lithia Motors worth $59,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 10,136,710.0% during the first quarter. Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC now owns 2,027,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $595,112,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,342 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 612,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $206,873,000 after buying an additional 33,966 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 479,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,022,000 after acquiring an additional 11,859 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth about $148,540,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 26.4% in the second quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 412,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,356,000 after acquiring an additional 86,121 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LAD. Barclays started coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $410.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $500.00 to $385.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $389.10.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $328.61 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $262.10 and a one year high of $405.14. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $320.91 and its 200-day moving average is $321.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.51 and a beta of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 22nd. The company reported $9.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.53 by $0.97. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.39% and a return on equity of 13.42%. The firm had revenue of $9.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.38 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $8.21 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 7th were given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 7th. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total transaction of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $651,600. This represents a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.87% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.