Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Shares Bought by US Bancorp DE

US Bancorp DE raised its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 24.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,833 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $264,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PAG. LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Penske Automotive Group by 48.0% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 9,638 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 3,124 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,898 shares of the company’s stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 645 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 10.7% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,480 shares of the company’s stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 432 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $404,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 97.8% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 45,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,936,000 after buying an additional 22,500 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Penske Automotive Group

In other news, EVP Shane M. Spradlin sold 3,158 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $527,701.80. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,152 shares in the company, valued at $6,040,999.20. This represents a 8.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.64, for a total value of $247,147.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 82,044 shares of company stock worth $13,257,948 over the last 90 days. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PAG opened at $182.92 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.05 and a twelve month high of $186.55. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $174.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $164.14. The stock has a market cap of $12.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.87.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.22. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 3.13%. The company had revenue of $7.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on PAG shares. Wall Street Zen raised Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Penske Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up from $180.00) on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.00.

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.