UMB Bank n.a. Raises Stock Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 69.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 124 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 51 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $44,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter worth $35,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 49.3% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 200 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth about $80,000.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In other Lithia Motors news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares of the company’s stock, 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 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 transaction of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 1,729 shares in the company, valued at $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 38,770 shares of company stock worth $15,103,607 in the last 90 days. 1.79% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on LAD. Stephens lifted 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. Benchmark began coverage on Lithia Motors in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $400.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $343.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $357.40.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $345.20 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $365.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $323.39. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52-week low of $243.00 and a 52-week high of $405.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.78, a PEG ratio of 4.83 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $9.25 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.