Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Stock Holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,544 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,078 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.05% of Penske Automotive Group worth $5,418,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 10,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,055 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 1.4 %

PAG opened at $151.74 on Monday. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.05 and a 12-month high of $180.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $156.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $158.13.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.56 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. As a group, research analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $166.25.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total value of $1,513,320.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,003,508.51. This trade represents a 23.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total transaction of $237,683.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Company Profile

Penske Automotive Group, Inc, a diversified transportation services company, operates automotive and commercial truck dealerships worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Retail Automotive, Retail Commercial Truck, Other, and Non-Automotive Investments. It operates dealerships under franchise agreements with various automotive manufacturers and distributors.