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

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD - Free Report) by 32.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Lithia Motors worth $19,682,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lithia Motors during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors in the 2nd quarter worth about $80,000. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lithia Motors during the 2nd quarter worth about $116,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lithia Motors news, CFO Tina Miller sold 1,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,403 shares in the company, valued at $4,085,466.16. This trade represents a 8.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $386.72, for a total transaction 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 represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 47,290 shares of company stock valued at $17,959,596 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.79% of the company's stock.

Lithia Motors Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of LAD traded down $5.28 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $360.98. 109,748 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 261,369. The company has a market capitalization of $9.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.32, a PEG ratio of 6.25 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a 52 week low of $243.00 and a 52 week high of $405.67. The company's 50 day moving average is $364.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $308.41.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $8.21 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.60 by $0.61. Lithia Motors had a net margin of 2.31% and a return on equity of 12.95%. The company had revenue of $9.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $9.25 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 29.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Lithia Motors Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Lithia Motors's payout ratio is 7.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on LAD. Citigroup increased 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. StockNews.com raised Lithia Motors from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Morgan Stanley raised Lithia Motors from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $225.00 to $310.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Lithia Motors from $380.00 to $418.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Lithia Motors from $299.00 to $343.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $357.60.

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.