Swiss National Bank Has $16.99 Million Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Swiss National Bank lessened its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 53,500 shares of the company’s stock after selling 700 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $16,994,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LAD. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 20,220 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,084,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 114.4% in the 1st quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 1,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $574,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares during the period. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $314,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 95.9% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 4,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,459,000 after buying an additional 2,375 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 15,223 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,580,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $390.95 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $328.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $288.50. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $391.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.41 billion, a PE ratio of 13.27 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $9.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $357.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $661,964.94. This represents a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 38,698 shares of company stock valued at $13,309,244. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Company 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.