Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lowered its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 13.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,932 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,511 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $1,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PAG. Xponance Inc. boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 2,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 35,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,424,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Pacific Global Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Pacific Global Investment Management Co. now owns 11,953 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,721,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on PAG shares. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.00.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE PAG opened at $166.25 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.91. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.05 and a 1 year high of $186.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $170.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.03.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.12. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The business had revenue of $7.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.21 earnings per share. Penske Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $1.26 dividend. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.49%.

Penske Automotive Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 14th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.64, for a total transaction of $247,147.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total value of $12,483,099.09. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 140,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,598,577.54. This trade represents a 35.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 82,044 shares of company stock worth $13,257,948 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 52.40% 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.