Corebridge Financial Inc. Sells 1,488 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Corebridge Financial Inc. lowered its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,137 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,488 shares during the quarter. Corebridge Financial Inc. owned 0.11% of Lithia Motors worth $10,772,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LAD. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 1,420.0% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 152 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $307.04 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $342.65 and a 200 day moving average of $342.43. The company has a market capitalization of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34, a PEG ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LAD shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.36.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total transaction of $80,676.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $362,444.40. This represents a 18.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock worth $433,724 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

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.