Fmr LLC Sells 124,350 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

FMR LLC lessened its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 16.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 628,717 shares of the company's stock after selling 124,350 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 2.36% of Lithia Motors worth $224,722,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Lyrical Asset Management LP increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Lyrical Asset Management LP now owns 510,388 shares of the company's stock worth $182,428,000 after purchasing an additional 11,674 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $152,752,000. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 18.0% in the fourth quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 362,022 shares of the company's stock valued at $129,398,000 after purchasing an additional 55,142 shares in the last quarter. Egerton Capital UK LLP bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $113,250,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company's stock worth $82,560,000 after purchasing an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at approximately $362,444.40. The trade was a 18.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724. Insiders own 0.87% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LAD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $365.91.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE:LAD traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $290.90. The stock had a trading volume of 179,000 shares, compared to its average volume of 312,656. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $321.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $342.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio is currently 7.14%.

About Lithia Motors

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.