Blue Trust Inc. Sells 53 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Blue Trust Inc. trimmed its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 26.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $53,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LAD. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atomi Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $202,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total value of $154,864.84. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,605 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.86, for a total transaction of $126,054.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,786.90. The trade was a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $345.98 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $360.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $339.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $9.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67.

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

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors 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.