Amalgamated Bank Lowers Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 8.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 17,145 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,499 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank owned about 0.06% of Lithia Motors worth $4,328,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 49,797 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,397,000 after purchasing an additional 9,818 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 132.9% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 19,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,758,000 after buying an additional 10,920 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $607,000. Comerica Bank grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 89.0% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 29,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,867,000 after buying an additional 13,875 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 11.2% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 203,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,318,000 after buying an additional 20,416 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on LAD. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Stephens started coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $360.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $266.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $326.00.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,417,080.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Lithia Motors news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $556,707.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 11,938 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 46,129 shares in the company, valued at $13,417,080.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.9 %

LAD opened at $299.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.21 billion, a PE ratio of 8.85, a P/E/G ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 1.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $279.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $271.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $231.36 and a 12-month high of $331.96.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 9th were issued a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 6.26%.

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.