Insider Selling: Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) COO Sells 8,520 Shares of Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total transaction of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Lithia Motors stock opened at $333.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $9.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.83 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $233.88 and a 1 year high of $341.84. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $299.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $275.17.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $9.25 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on LAD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Stephens lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $350.80.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Lithia Motors

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of LAD. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 49,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,397,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,489 shares of the company’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 6,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,042,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,468 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 39.0% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 14,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,434,000 after acquiring an additional 4,133 shares in the last quarter.

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.