First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $274,000 Stock Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the third quarter worth about $35,000. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% during 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 in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Lithia Motors by 49.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% during the third quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark started coverage on Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Stephens raised their target price 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. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Five equities 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $357.40.

Lithia Motors Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $367.41 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $365.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $325.34. The company has a market cap of $9.79 billion, a PE ratio of 12.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.67. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $243.00 and a twelve month high of $405.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 6,742 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $400.00, for a total value of $2,696,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 174,445 shares in the company, valued at $69,778,000. The trade was a 3.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $392.72, for a total transaction of $392,720.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,085,466.16. This represents a 8.77 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 38,770 shares of company stock valued at $15,103,607. 1.79% of the stock is owned by 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.