Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $13.53 Million Holdings in Lithia Motors, Inc. $LAD

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors, Inc. (NYSE:LAD) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,197 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,037 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.23% of Lithia Motors worth $13,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LAD. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $125,214,000. River Road Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 742,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,814,000 after acquiring an additional 186,628 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Lithia Motors during the 4th quarter worth $58,409,000. Corient Private Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lithia Motors by 8,474.0% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 107,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,789,000 after purchasing an additional 106,434 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its position in shares of Lithia Motors by 183.6% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 162,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,149,000 after purchasing an additional 105,478 shares during the period.

Insider Activity at Lithia Motors

In related news, Director Richard J. Bailey, Jr. sold 297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.57, for a total value of $83,329.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 760 shares in the company, valued at $213,233.20. This trade represents a 28.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Shauna Mcintyre sold 245 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.64, for a total transaction of $72,186.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,846 shares in the company, valued at $543,905.44. The trade was a 11.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 782 shares of company stock valued at $229,572 in the last ninety days. 1.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on LAD. Zacks Research raised shares of Lithia Motors from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $348.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lithia Motors from $305.00 to $306.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $326.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Lithia Motors from $370.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $380.33.

Lithia Motors Trading Down 1.6%

NYSE LAD opened at $334.59 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Lithia Motors, Inc. has a twelve month low of $239.78 and a twelve month high of $360.55. The company has a market cap of $7.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $300.60 and its 200 day moving average is $293.80.

Lithia Motors (NYSE:LAD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $7.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.06 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $9.27 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.22 billion. Lithia Motors had a return on equity of 12.49% and a net margin of 1.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lithia Motors, Inc. will post 34.19 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lithia Motors declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 7.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Lithia Motors Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 8th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This is an increase from Lithia Motors’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 8th. Lithia Motors’s payout ratio is currently 8.01%.

About Lithia Motors

Lithia Motors, Inc is an American automotive retailer headquartered in Medford, Oregon. Founded in 1946 as a small auto body and glass shop, the company has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to become one of the largest automotive retail networks in North America. Lithia operates dealerships across the United States and Canada, offering a broad portfolio of new and pre-owned vehicles from more than 40 different manufacturers.

The company’s core business activities include vehicle sales, financing, insurance, parts and service.