693 Shares in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Purchased by Whalen Wealth Management Inc.

Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 49.3% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 2.4 %

LAD stock opened at $345.47 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The company has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 1.67. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $366.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $322.00. 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 (NYSE:LAD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $9.25 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LAD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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, January 15th. Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lithia Motors presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction 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 $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % 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, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 3,313 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $1,258,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 192,814 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,269,320. This represents a 1.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 38,770 shares of company stock valued at $15,103,607 over the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lithia Motors Company 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.