Consolidated Planning Corp Raises Position in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD)

Consolidated Planning Corp raised its holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 55.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,891 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Consolidated Planning Corp’s holdings in Lithia Motors were worth $1,033,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LAD. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Lithia Motors by 30.5% in the fourth 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 period. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 1.3% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 3,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $975,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake 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 during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 2.6% during the third quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,911 shares of the company’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 69.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 124 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Gary M. Glandon sold 242 shares of the business’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 value of $92,652.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 1,729 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $661,964.94. The trade was a 12.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 11,627 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $390.00, for a total transaction of $4,534,530.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 181,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,662,930. This represents a 6.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,611 shares of company stock valued at $7,716,702 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.79% of the company’s stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Up 4.6 %

Shares of NYSE LAD opened at $385.63 on Thursday. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 12-month low of $243.00 and a 12-month high of $405.67. The company has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.90 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. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $363.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $333.72.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $7.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.33 by $0.46. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $405.00 to $400.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Lithia Motors in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “buy” rating and a $400.00 price objective on the stock. 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 report on Wednesday, January 15th. 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. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $357.40.

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.