Swiss National Bank Decreases Stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Swiss National Bank reduced its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 1.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,800 shares of the company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.06% of Penske Automotive Group worth $5,586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Penske Automotive Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,004,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $288,656,000 after buying an additional 5,641 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 806,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,998,000 after acquiring an additional 13,106 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 606,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,487,000 after acquiring an additional 20,506 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 18.5% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 155,560 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,714,000 after acquiring an additional 24,274 shares during the period. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 65.4% in the 1st quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 153,605 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,116,000 after acquiring an additional 60,734 shares during the period. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Penske Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $181.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of the business’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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shane M. Spradlin sold 3,158 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $527,701.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 36,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,040,999.20. The trade was a 8.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,257,948. 52.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of PAG opened at $180.77 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $174.63 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a PE ratio of 12.58 and a beta of 0.87. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.05 and a 52-week high of $186.55.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.98 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The company’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.61 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

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

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

Penske Automotive Group 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.