Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stake Cut by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. cut its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 41.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,513 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,783 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versor Investments LP lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company's stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $607,000. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 89.0% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company's stock worth $8,867,000 after acquiring an additional 13,875 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 70,405 shares of the company's stock worth $17,774,000 after acquiring an additional 13,126 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted 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 worth $40,609,000 after acquiring an additional 87,362 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on LAD. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Guggenheim raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup raised 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, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

NYSE LAD traded down $2.76 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $370.65. The stock had a trading volume of 223,044 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,535. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $323.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $287.25. The company has a market cap of $9.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.65 and a beta of 1.63. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $388.36.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during 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 revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Chris Holzshu sold 8,520 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.21, for a total value of $2,855,989.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 32,054 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,744,821.34. The trade was a 21.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 3,313 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total value of $1,258,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,814 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $73,269,320. This represents a 1.69 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,394 shares of company stock valued at $16,688,879. Corporate 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.