Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Sold by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 30.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,558 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,332 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $5,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Brown Advisory Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $961,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $123,976,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in Lithia Motors by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 30,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,971,000 after buying an additional 2,601 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter worth $318,000.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $299.70 on Friday. 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. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $271.33. The stock has a market cap of $8.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.64.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $10.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Guggenheim upgraded Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $360.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $326.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’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 directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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.