First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Acquires 99 Shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 14.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 767 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $274,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Lithia Motors by 69.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 167 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 49.3% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period.

Lithia Motors Trading Up 3.3 %

LAD stock opened at $367.41 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $365.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $325.34. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $405.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a P/E/G ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim boosted their price target on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Stephens upped their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $360.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.40.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total value of $392,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,466.16. The trade was a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of Lithia Motors stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $80,408,369.28. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 38,770 shares of company stock worth $15,103,607. 1.79% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Lithia Motors

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.