Adam Chamberlain Sells 403 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Stock

Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. The trade was a 13.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

LAD stock opened at $380.41 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $363.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $335.37. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67. 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 $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Benchmark started coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stephens raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.50.

Institutional Trading of Lithia Motors

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter.

Lithia Motors Company 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.