The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 897 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 165,858 shares of the company’s stock after selling 897 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $52,683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 14.7% in the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock valued at $429,390,000 after acquiring an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 25.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,016,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $256,621,000 after buying an additional 203,543 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 27.5% during the third quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,997,000 after buying an additional 78,784 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 2.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 260,470 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,756,000 after buying an additional 5,390 shares during the period. Finally, Bridges Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 43.5% during the third quarter. Bridges Investment Management Inc. now owns 230,761 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,299,000 after buying an additional 69,901 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

LAD opened at $386.16 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1 year low of $243.00 and a 1 year high of $405.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $336.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $292.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a PE ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 6.48 and a beta of 1.63.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $9.25 EPS. Lithia Motors’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. This represents a 23.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at approximately $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock valued at $20,933,294. 1.79% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.