Burney Co. Has $426,000 Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Burney Co. cut its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 31.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,193 shares of the company’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. Burney Co.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 14.7% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,700,893 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,390,000 after purchasing an additional 217,867 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Lithia Motors by 12.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 753,067 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,204,000 after buying an additional 85,579 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Lithia Motors by 27.5% in the 3rd quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 365,184 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,997,000 after buying an additional 78,784 shares during the period. Tensile Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Tensile Capital Management LP now owns 261,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $83,071,000 after acquiring an additional 6,252 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 259,916 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,560,000 after acquiring an additional 37,677 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lithia Motors

In related news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 207,924 shares in the company, valued at $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 47,290 shares of company stock worth $17,959,596. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports 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 research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.40.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LAD opened at $351.33 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $368.56 and a 200-day moving average of $319.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67. The firm has a market cap of $9.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.67.

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

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is 7.24%.

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.