Insider Selling: Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Sells $4,534,530.00 in Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 11,627 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total value of $4,534,530.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 181,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,662,930. This represents a 6.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.2 %

LAD opened at $386.16 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $334.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $291.59. 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 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a PEG ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.25 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 1.3% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $607,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP increased its position in Lithia Motors by 7.0% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on LAD. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $357.60.

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.