Advisors Asset Management Inc. Trims Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 29.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,877 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $638,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. UMB Bank n.a. raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 421.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 51.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 353.0% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 453 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 31.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at $105,000. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total value of $289,906.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 1,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $276,351.46. This trade represents a 51.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total transaction of $200,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,211.10. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PAG opened at $184.28 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $179.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.33. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.05 and a fifty-two week high of $189.51. The firm has a market cap of $12.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.82 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.90.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business’s revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reiterated 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Penske Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $181.00.

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.