Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Holdings Increased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,359 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $484,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 9.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,367 shares of the company’s stock worth $485,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 10,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares in the last quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 15.8% in the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after buying an additional 1,639 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 33.4% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at about $648,000. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PAG. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Penske Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.64, for a total transaction of $247,147.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 stock was sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total transaction of $12,483,099.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,598,577.54. This represents a 35.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,044 shares of company stock worth $13,257,948. Insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of NYSE:PAG opened at $185.87 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $164.01. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.05 and a 52 week high of $186.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $12.27 billion, a PE ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.87.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.98 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 3.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.61 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.32 dividend. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.07%.

Penske Automotive Group announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.