State Street Corp Cuts Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

State Street Corp lowered its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 827,908 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,247 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp owned 3.11% of Lithia Motors worth $262,977,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of LAD. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company's stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in Lithia Motors during the second quarter valued at $80,000.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the sale, the insider now owns 1,729 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $661,964.94. This trade represents a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. This represents a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on LAD shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.1 %

LAD stock traded up $4.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $380.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 246,658 shares, compared to its average volume of 260,879. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.85, a PEG ratio of 6.21 and a beta of 1.65. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $349.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $299.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $9.25 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

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.