Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Shares Sold by Aigen Investment Management LP

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP reduced its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 55.2% in the first quarter, holding 1,734 shares valued at $250,000 after selling 2,134 shares.
• In contrast, UMB Bank significantly increased its holdings by 421.5% during the same period, now owning 339 shares worth $49,000.
• Penske Automotive Group plans to buy back $250 million in shares, indicative of the board's belief that its stock is undervalued, while also announcing an increased quarterly dividend of $1.32.

Aigen Investment Management LP lessened its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 55.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,734 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,134 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP's holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAG. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 421.5% during the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 339 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 51.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 528 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 42.4% during the 4th 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, State of Wyoming acquired a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $105,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Penske Automotive Group news, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,042 shares in the company, valued at $22,598,577.54. This represents a 35.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.64, for a total transaction of $247,147.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 82,044 shares of company stock worth $13,257,948 over the last three months. Company insiders own 51.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on PAG. 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Penske Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $190.00 price target (up previously from $180.00) on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.00.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 1.5%

PAG traded down $2.72 on Friday, hitting $180.34. The company had a trading volume of 200,276 shares, compared to its average volume of 254,435. The firm has a market cap of $11.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55 and a beta of 0.87. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.05 and a 1 year high of $186.55. The company's fifty day moving average price is $174.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.98 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 17.43%. Penske Automotive Group's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. Penske Automotive Group's payout ratio is currently 35.07%.

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.