Cerity Partners LLC Cuts Stock Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,932 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,511 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $1,430,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 421.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 51.9% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 528 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Penske Automotive Group

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.64, for a total value of $247,147.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total value of $12,483,099.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,042 shares in the company, valued at $22,598,577.54. The trade was a 35.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 82,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,257,948. 52.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PAG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen raised Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup lifted 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. Bank of America lifted 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. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.00.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PAG opened at $166.25 on Tuesday. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.05 and a 1 year high of $186.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $170.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.03. 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 firm has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 0.91.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 3.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.21 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 14th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.49%.

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.