Insider Selling: Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Sells 90 Shares of Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 90 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.00, for a total value of $24,750.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $494,175. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Shauna Mcintyre also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 25th, Shauna Mcintyre sold 164 shares of Lithia Motors stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.00, for a total transaction of $49,036.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Lithia Motors stock traded up $1.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $272.57. 101,857 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 281,567. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $185.00 and a twelve month high of $329.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $272.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $278.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.33. The firm has a market cap of $7.50 billion, a PE ratio of 7.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.57.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported $9.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.99 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $8.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.17 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 18.51%. Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $11.08 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 37.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 10th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.33%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 102.9% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 676,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $205,703,000 after buying an additional 343,000 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $65,185,000. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 114.1% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 463,753 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,949,000 after acquiring an additional 247,174 shares in the last quarter. MFN Partners Management LP increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 43.0% in the first quarter. MFN Partners Management LP now owns 751,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,413,000 after acquiring an additional 225,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eaton Vance Management increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 37,874.1% in the first quarter. Eaton Vance Management now owns 171,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,400,000 after acquiring an additional 170,812 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on LAD shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $198.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $348.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $275.00 to $259.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $245.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $324.89.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer. The company operates through Domestic, Import, and Luxury segments. It offers new and used vehicles; vehicle financing services; warranties, insurance contracts, and vehicle and theft protection services; and automotive repair and maintenance services, as well as sells body and parts for the new vehicles under the Driveway and GreenCars brand names.