Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Sold by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC trimmed its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 43.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,906 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Lithia Motors worth $5,398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.3% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 224,269 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,063,000 after acquiring an additional 11,259 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 2,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $684,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 263,382 shares of the company’s stock valued at $80,097,000 after acquiring an additional 7,250 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at $256,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 839,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $255,152,000 after acquiring an additional 48,010 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on LAD shares. Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $375.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $198.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 9th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $275.00 to $259.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $324.89.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $271.38 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 7.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.57. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $273.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $278.20. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $185.00 and a fifty-two week high of $329.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 1.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported $9.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.99 by ($0.74). The firm had revenue of $8.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.17 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 18.51%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $11.08 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 37.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Investors of record on Friday, November 10th were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 9th. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 5.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.59, for a total transaction of $1,552,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,807,822.21. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 164 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.00, for a total transaction of $49,036.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $564,213. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.59, for a total transaction of $1,552,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,822.21. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer. The company operates through Domestic, Import, and Luxury segments. It offers new and used vehicles; vehicle financing services; warranties, insurance contracts, and vehicle and theft protection services; and automotive repair and maintenance services, as well as sells body and parts for the new vehicles under the Driveway and GreenCars brand names.