Strs Ohio Decreases Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Strs Ohio lowered its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 88.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 612 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,893 shares during the period. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the second quarter valued at approximately $148,540,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter worth about $39,342,000. River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lithia Motors by 26.4% during the second quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 412,516 shares of the company’s stock worth $139,356,000 after acquiring an additional 86,121 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its stake in Lithia Motors by 57.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 197,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,691,000 after acquiring an additional 72,061 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Lithia Motors by 42.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 187,997 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,514,000 after acquiring an additional 55,631 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Congdon Stacy Loretz sold 75 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $360.00, for a total value of $27,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,810 shares in the company, valued at approximately $651,600. The trade was a 3.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.87% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 1.2%

LAD opened at $327.26 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $332.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $320.04. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $262.10 and a 52 week high of $405.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $7.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.47 and a beta of 1.18.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Lithia Motors from $440.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, November 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Lithia Motors from $350.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Lithia Motors in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $385.00 to $399.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $390.70.

Lithia Motors Profile

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.