Xponance Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Xponance Inc. lessened its holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 25.5% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,230 shares of the company’s stock after selling 765 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Penske Automotive Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,999,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,757,000 after acquiring an additional 12,912 shares during the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its position 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 last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Penske Automotive Group by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 259,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,560,000 after acquiring an additional 38,388 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on PAG. Bank of America upped their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total transaction of $12,483,099.09. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,042 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,598,577.54. This represents a 35.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Shane M. Spradlin sold 3,158 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 36,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,040,999.20. The trade was a 8.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,257,948. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

PAG opened at $165.01 on Friday. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.05 and a 12-month high of $186.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $170.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.88. The company has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.91.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.12. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 3.10%. The business had revenue of $7.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.21 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $1.26 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is currently 35.49%.

Penske Automotive Group announced that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 14th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.