Commerce Bank Takes $204,000 Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Commerce Bank acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 642 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in LAD. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at about $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter worth about $80,000.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $661,964.94. This represents a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 58,067 shares of company stock worth $20,933,294. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LAD. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $386.16 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $334.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $291.59. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The company has a market cap 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

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.