Truist Financial Corp Cuts Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Truist Financial Corp reduced its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 85.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,410 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,492 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.8% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 8,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,217,000 after buying an additional 1,688 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 257.0% in the second quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 21,493 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,426,000 after purchasing an additional 15,473 shares during the period. Scientech Research LLC raised its position in Lithia Motors by 41.6% in the second quarter. Scientech Research LLC now owns 1,364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 401 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp purchased a new position in Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at about $211,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Lithia Motors by 19.5% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 166,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,097,000 after purchasing an additional 27,211 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’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 approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’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 approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of Lithia Motors 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 sale, the director now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE:LAD opened at $315.37 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $231.36 and a one year high of $331.96. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $295.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 1.19.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 13.84% and a net margin of 2.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $10.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 6.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on LAD. Guggenheim raised Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Stephens began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $337.70.

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.