Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 914 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 2.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,098 shares of the company’s stock after selling 914 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $12,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth approximately $211,000. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 122.1% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 17,265 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,484,000 after buying an additional 9,490 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% in the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth approximately $223,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth approximately $217,000.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 12.0 %

Shares of LAD stock opened at $304.56 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12 month low of $243.00 and a 12 month high of $405.68. The stock has a market cap of $8.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.26, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.61. 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 has a 50 day simple moving average of $326.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $342.56.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th were paid a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.14%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were 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 owns 1,665 shares in the company, valued at approximately $645,786.90. This represents a 16.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.84, for a total transaction of $72,128.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LAD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. 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 research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $365.91.

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.