Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Purchases 31,463 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 32.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 127,776 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,463 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.19% of Penske Automotive Group worth $21,953,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the first quarter worth approximately $1,916,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $247,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,662 shares of the company’s stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 13.6% during the 1st quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 5,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $817,000 after purchasing an additional 679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 7.4% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 10,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,490,000 after purchasing an additional 713 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 3.2%

Penske Automotive Group stock opened at $160.83 on Friday. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.05 and a 12-month high of $189.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $166.83 and a 200 day moving average of $171.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.71 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 3.08%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $175.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Barclays started coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $195.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.86.

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.