Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 340 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,282 shares of the company’s stock after selling 340 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $80,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stephens lifted their target price on Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.2 %

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

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $9.25 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This represents a 23.36 % 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 worth $20,933,294. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.