Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Holdings Decreased by Dana Investment Advisors Inc.

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,203 shares of the company’s stock after selling 485 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. owned about 0.14% of Lithia Motors worth $9,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,823,369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $929,679,000 after purchasing an additional 15,962 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after buying an additional 217,867 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $256,621,000 after buying an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 727,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,981,000 after buying an additional 48,938 shares during the period. Finally, Cadian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $105,370,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LAD. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim upgraded Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $360.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $338.00.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE LAD opened at $317.64 on Tuesday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $231.36 and a 1 year high of $331.96. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $285.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $272.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market cap of $8.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $10.91 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.78 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,707.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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.