Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Sold by Mather Group LLC.

Mather Group LLC. cut its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 288 shares of the company’s stock after selling 54 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $91,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LAD. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $975,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 459 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 13.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $167,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $663,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.5 %

LAD stock opened at $305.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.17 billion, a PE ratio of 9.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $292.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $273.16. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.36 and a fifty-two week high of $331.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The company had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $10.91 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.74 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 6.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Guggenheim upgraded Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $338.00.

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.