Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Sold by Mutual of America Capital Management LLC

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lessened its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,071 shares of the company’s stock after selling 382 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned about 0.05% of Lithia Motors worth $5,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LAD. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,204,000 after purchasing an additional 85,579 shares during the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 27.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,071,000 after buying an additional 6,252 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,560,000 after acquiring an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 237,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $84,966,000 after acquiring an additional 3,558 shares during the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of LAD opened at $317.96 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $359.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $341.18. The company has a market capitalization of $8.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.