Wellington Management Group LLP Sells 4,561 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Wellington Management Group LLP lessened its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 32.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,598 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,561 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP's holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $3,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LAD. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of 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 last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $35,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during 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 holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company's stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $80,000.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $661,964.94. This trade represents a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596 in the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 3.7 %

LAD stock traded down $13.77 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $357.00. The stock had a trading volume of 583,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 262,215. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $9.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $356.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.20. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $9.25 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LAD. Stephens increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $357.60.

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.