Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Cuts Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 206,145 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,721 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.77% of Lithia Motors worth $65,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company's stock worth $429,390,000 after buying an additional 217,867 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 25.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $256,621,000 after acquiring an additional 203,543 shares in the last quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 87,362 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth $26,071,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company's stock worth $115,997,000 after purchasing an additional 78,784 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded up $0.90 on Friday, hitting $387.06. 84,703 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 261,231. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.67. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $338.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 6.34 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. Lithia Motors's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $80,408,369.28. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. The trade was a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294 over the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $357.60.

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.