Insider Selling: Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) Director Sells $72,186.80 in Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total value of $72,186.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,905.44. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $274.80 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.65, a PEG ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $239.78 and a 12-month high of $360.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $267.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $300.91.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.06 by $0.28. The firm had revenue of $9.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.Lithia Motors’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.66 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a positive change from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $335.00 to $320.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.22.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. CoreCap Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 111.4% during the 4th quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 75.0% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 105 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.