AQR Capital Management LLC Purchases 20,506 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 606,709 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 20,506 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.91% of Penske Automotive Group worth $92,487,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 262 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth $76,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 42.4% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 531 shares of the company's stock valued at $81,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the third quarter worth $94,000. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup started coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $165.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the firm'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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,003,508.51. This trade represents a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the company'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 Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of PAG stock traded down $0.52 on Tuesday, hitting $155.71. The stock had a trading volume of 30,454 shares, compared to its average volume of 194,492. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.05 and a 12-month high of $180.12. The business has a 50 day moving average of $153.22 and a 200 day moving average of $158.16. 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 stock has a market cap of $10.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.32 and a beta of 1.03.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio is 34.37%.

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.