Koss Olinger Consulting LLC Lowers Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Koss Olinger Consulting LLC cut its position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,510 shares of the company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the quarter. Koss Olinger Consulting LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,115,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LAD. Chicago Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Capital LLC now owns 217,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,960,000 after buying an additional 2,666 shares during the last quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 392.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harfst & Associates Inc. now owns 34,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,049,000 after buying an additional 27,726 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 34,161 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,851,000 after buying an additional 3,263 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter worth $212,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 306 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.65, for a total transaction of $88,632.90. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $556,707.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 23,021 shares of company stock valued at $6,534,617. Company insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on LAD shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $315.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lithia Motors from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $337.70.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of LAD opened at $313.88 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.27, a PEG ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $296.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $273.56. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $231.36 and a twelve month high of $331.96.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $7.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.09 by $0.78. The business had revenue of $9.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.29 billion. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 13.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $10.91 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 28.74 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 9th were given a $0.53 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 9th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 6.26%.

About Lithia Motors

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.