Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 5,068 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Geode Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 446,648 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,068 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 1.68% of Lithia Motors worth $141,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at about $80,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on LAD shares. Stephens upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report 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 report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $381.06 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $355.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $303.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.01, a PEG ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 32,054 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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.