Inspire Investing LLC Sells 566 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Inspire Investing LLC reduced its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 11.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,361 shares of the company’s stock after selling 566 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $46,505,000. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,960.2% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 126,909 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,311,000 after buying an additional 120,749 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5,233.4% during the third quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 107,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,187,000 after acquiring an additional 105,611 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,204,000 after acquiring an additional 85,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,071,000.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,085,466.16. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 3,313 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $1,258,940.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 192,814 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,269,320. The trade was a 1.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,770 shares of company stock worth $15,103,607. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $346.53 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $366.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $322.17. The firm has a market cap of $9.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a P/E/G ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $9.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Guggenheim increased their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.40.

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.