Dana Investment Advisors Inc. Sells 3,485 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Dana Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,717 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,485 shares during the quarter. Dana Investment Advisors Inc. owned about 0.11% of Lithia Motors worth $10,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LAD. Creative Planning boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 5.4% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 1,657 shares of the company’s stock worth $526,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $248,000. Stephens Inc. AR bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $221,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 120.7% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 4,549 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,445,000 after acquiring an additional 2,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 124.6% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,716,000 after acquiring an additional 2,996 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This trade represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Lithia Motors in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of LAD opened at $316.15 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The company has a market cap of $8.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69. The company has a current ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $358.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $341.38.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be paid a $0.53 dividend. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.