MetLife Investment Management LLC Decreases Stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 4.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 13,828 shares of the company’s stock after selling 598 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $4,392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the 3rd quarter valued at about $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 83.6% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% in the 2nd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth $80,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total value of $2,973,697.61. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,352 shares in the company, valued at $9,754,677.36. This represents a 23.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $382.86, for a total value of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 58,067 shares of company stock worth $20,933,294. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Guggenheim upped their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $375.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $357.60.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of Lithia Motors stock opened at $386.90 on Monday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a one year low of $243.00 and a one year high of $405.67. The company has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.20, a PEG ratio of 6.35 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $340.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $293.82.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $9.25 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.