Great Lakes Advisors LLC Has $5.40 Million Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 43.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,751 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,906 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $5,398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $46,000. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 34.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 226 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 1,023.8% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $60,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of Lithia Motors from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $295.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $275.00 to $259.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. Stephens boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $365.00 to $385.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $348.00 to $300.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $324.89.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $271.38 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.47 billion, a PE ratio of 7.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.33 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $273.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.20. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $185.00 and a 52-week high of $329.00.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 25th. The company reported $9.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $9.99 by ($0.74). The business had revenue of $8.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.17 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 3.41% and a return on equity of 18.51%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $11.08 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 37.29 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 10th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 9th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.00, for a total value of $49,036.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $564,213. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.59, for a total value of $1,552,950.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,807,822.21. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 164 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.00, for a total transaction of $49,036.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 1,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $564,213. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.90% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Company Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc operates as an automotive retailer. The company operates through Domestic, Import, and Luxury segments. It offers new and used vehicles; vehicle financing services; warranties, insurance contracts, and vehicle and theft protection services; and automotive repair and maintenance services, as well as sells body and parts for the new vehicles under the Driveway and GreenCars brand names.