Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Sold by First Eagle Investment Management LLC

First Eagle Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 30.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,558 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,332 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.08% of Lithia Motors worth $5,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brown Advisory Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 4th quarter valued at $961,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the fourth quarter valued at about $123,976,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 41.2% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,476 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 431 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 9.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 30,282 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,971,000 after acquiring an additional 2,601 shares during the period. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth approximately $318,000.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total transaction of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,754,677.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.86, for a total value of $3,472,286.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,417,080.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock worth $6,534,617. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on LAD. Bank of America upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. StockNews.com downgraded Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Guggenheim raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $338.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $326.00.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $299.70 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $231.36 and a fifty-two week high of $331.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $279.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $8.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.64.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.09 by $0.78. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The company’s revenue was up 13.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $10.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is currently 6.26%.

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.