Bank of Montreal Can Raises Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Bank of Montreal Can raised its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,651 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $404,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth $76,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter worth $94,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Penske Automotive Group news, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total transaction of $1,513,320.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,917 shares in the company, valued at $5,003,508.51. This trade represents a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of PAG opened at $154.76 on Wednesday. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.05 and a 12-month high of $180.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.26 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $155.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.17. The company 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.15%. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.49%.

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.