Logan Capital Management Inc. Reduces Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Logan Capital Management Inc. reduced its stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,248 shares of the company’s stock after selling 480 shares during the quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.18% of Lithia Motors worth $15,643,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Diversified Trust Co purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $339,000. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in Lithia Motors by 15.5% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 1,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Lithia Motors by 15.9% in the 2nd quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 7,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,905,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 66.6% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 30,898 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,800,000 after acquiring an additional 12,356 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lithia Motors has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of Lithia Motors stock traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $381.19. The company had a trading volume of 13,195 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,493. The stock has a market cap of $10.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.98, a P/E/G ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 1-year low of $243.00 and a 1-year high of $405.67. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $352.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $300.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.60 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. Lithia Motors’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $9.25 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.56%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.24%.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total transaction of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction of $6,127,965.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

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.