Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Shares Sold by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC decreased its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 14.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,443 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,890 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $1,755,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at $76,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at $94,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in Penske Automotive Group by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com downgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $166.25.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 0.6 %

PAG opened at $149.82 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $157.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90 and a beta of 1.03. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.05 and a fifty-two week high of $180.12.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Penske Automotive Group 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.