Captrust Financial Advisors Sells 39 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Captrust Financial Advisors reduced its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,648 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sendero Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,875,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC bought a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter valued at $46,505,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the fourth quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Red Spruce Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Red Spruce Capital LLC now owns 9,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,253,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 270 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.80, for a total value of $80,676.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,213 shares in the company, valued at $362,444.40. This trade represents a 18.21% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,297 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $377,219.48. This represents a 16.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 855 shares of company stock worth $252,536 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.87% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LAD. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $328.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $417.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $420.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lithia Motors has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $361.20.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of LAD opened at $320.42 on Friday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.04 and a 1-year high of $405.68. The company has a market capitalization of $8.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $296.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $339.37.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $7.66 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.77 by ($0.11). Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.43% and a net margin of 2.21%. The company had revenue of $9.18 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.19 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.11 EPS. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.53. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.93%.

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.