First Eagle Investment Management LLC Sells 25,700 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 71.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,518 shares of the company’s stock after selling 25,700 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $3,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAD. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 51.4% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,472 shares of the company’s stock worth $785,000 after purchasing an additional 839 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 7.0% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 856 shares of the company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 14.1% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $26,071,000. Finally, OneAscent Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth $232,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LAD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $400.00 to $440.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Five 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $371.36.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 3.4 %

LAD stock opened at $295.39 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $349.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $341.52. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.68. The company has a market capitalization of $7.76 billion, a PE ratio of 9.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 1.69.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 EPS 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, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Friday, March 21st. Investors of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $0.53 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Adam Chamberlain sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $384.28, for a total transaction of $154,864.84. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,049.40. This represents a 13.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,246 shares of company stock valued at $433,724 over the last quarter. 1.79% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.