Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 3,485 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,717 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,485 shares during the period. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. owned 0.11% of Lithia Motors worth $10,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company's stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 863 shares of the company's stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company's stock valued at $607,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE LAD traded down $7.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $305.09. 283,127 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 389,017. The company's fifty day moving average is $355.30 and its two-hundred day moving average is $341.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.02 billion, a PE ratio of 10.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This trade represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors 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.