Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System lessened its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,587 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $6,072,000. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its position in Lithia Motors by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 47,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,544,000 after purchasing an additional 6,485 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Lithia Motors by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 16,702 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,500,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Lithia Motors by 148.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 10,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,492,000 after purchasing an additional 6,330 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $321.50.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD stock opened at $297.73 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.16 billion, a PE ratio of 8.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.63. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $272.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.36 and a twelve month high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.09 by $0.78. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 27.62 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, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total value of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,707.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors 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.