Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 4,561 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Wellington Management Group LLP reduced its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 32.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,598 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,561 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $3,049,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Versor Investments LP raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 7.0% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,774,000 after buying an additional 13,126 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 118.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 160,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,609,000 after acquiring an additional 87,362 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 46.1% during the second quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,650,000 after acquiring an additional 3,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capstone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth $731,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596 over the last ninety days. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD opened at $370.93 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.65, a PEG ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $355.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $303.37. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

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.