Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 32.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 61,963 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,306 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Lithia Motors worth $19,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the third quarter valued at $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 83.6% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 134 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lithia Motors by 23.9% in the 3rd 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. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 12,500.0% during the second quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 252 shares of the company's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the second quarter worth approximately $80,000.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LAD. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America upped their price target on Lithia Motors from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $300.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Lithia Motors from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Stephens increased 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. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $353.80.

Lithia Motors Stock Performance

NYSE LAD traded down $1.55 on Friday, hitting $371.06. 201,627 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 260,413. The firm has a market cap of $9.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.66 and a beta of 1.63. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $319.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $285.13. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $243.00 and a fifty-two week high of $388.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $9.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.46 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.95% and a net margin of 2.31%. Lithia Motors's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $9.25 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.09 EPS for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is currently 7.24%.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Sidney B. Deboer sold 10,777 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.93, for a total transaction of $2,973,697.61. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,352 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,754,677.36. This represents a 23.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Bryan B. Deboer sold 15,846 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total value of $6,127,965.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 207,924 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,394 shares of company stock valued at $16,688,879. 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.