New York State Teachers Retirement System Sells 912 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,318 shares of the company's stock after selling 912 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.13% of Lithia Motors worth $11,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.4% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,657 shares of the company's stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at about $327,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth about $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 49.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter valued at approximately $212,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on LAD. Guggenheim boosted their price objective 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $371.36.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total transaction of $2,696,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 174,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $69,778,000. This trade represents a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 8,470 shares of company stock worth $3,370,439. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.8 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded down $10.26 during trading on Friday, hitting $350.44. 301,930 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 400,004. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.70 and a beta of 1.67. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $362.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $337.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued 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, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is presently 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.