Strs Ohio Sells 4,893 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Strs Ohio lessened its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 88.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 612 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,893 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $193,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 479,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $162,022,000 after buying an additional 11,859 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $148,540,000. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 412,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $139,356,000 after buying an additional 86,121 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 255,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,346,000 after acquiring an additional 14,179 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the subject of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $327.00 to $358.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 24th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.70.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $327.26 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a PE ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 1.18. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $262.10 and a 52-week high of $405.14. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $332.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $320.04. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,810 shares in the company, valued at $651,600. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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.