New York Life Investment Management LLC Sells 332 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 10.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,787 shares of the company’s stock after selling 332 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $996,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Creative Planning raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $248,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Lithia Motors by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 3,110 shares of the company’s stock worth $987,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $268,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $221,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on LAD. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $346.00 to $397.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 5.8 %

LAD stock opened at $324.51 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $360.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $340.96. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. 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 $8.53 billion, a PE ratio of 10.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.67.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.21% and a return on equity of 12.43%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is 7.14%.

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.