Russell Investments Group Ltd. Increases Stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 10.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,480 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 432 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $22,049,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,157,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 263,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,179,000 after buying an additional 51,720 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 17.4% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 259,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,560,000 after buying an additional 38,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 174.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 40,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,250,000 after buying an additional 26,085 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.25.

Insider Activity

In other Penske Automotive Group 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 shares were sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total value of $1,513,320.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,003,508.51. This trade represents a 23.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was 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. Insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 2.5 %

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

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its quarterly 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 the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.49%.

About Penske Automotive Group

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.