Adam Chamberlain Sells 403 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of LAD opened at $380.41 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $363.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $335.78. The stock has a market cap of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. Equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Comerica Bank lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 36,295 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,973,000 after acquiring an additional 7,739 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $465,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 256,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,852,000 after buying an additional 59,525 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 183,734 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,672,000 after buying an additional 17,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,910,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LAD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Stephens boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $362.50.

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.