Geode Capital Management LLC Sells 162 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Geode Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 313,715 shares of the company’s stock after selling 162 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $47,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PAG. Highland Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter worth $415,000. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 54,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,241,000 after acquiring an additional 2,446 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAG has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com cut Penske Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.25.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PAG opened at $151.31 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.20. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.05 and a 1 year high of $180.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $157.37 and a 200 day moving average of $158.37.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.56 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total value of $1,513,320.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,003,508.51. This represents a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total transaction of $237,683.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

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.