American Century Companies Inc. trimmed its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 52.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 123,863 shares of the company's stock after selling 135,650 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Penske Automotive Group worth $17,834,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,004,832 shares of the company's stock worth $288,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,641 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 806,860 shares of the company's stock worth $122,998,000 after purchasing an additional 13,106 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 606,709 shares of the company's stock worth $92,487,000 after purchasing an additional 20,506 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 223,630 shares of the company's stock worth $32,198,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 155,560 shares of the company's stock worth $23,714,000 after purchasing an additional 24,274 shares during the period. 77.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group
In related news, EVP Shane M. Spradlin sold 3,158 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $527,701.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 36,152 shares in the company, valued at $6,040,999.20. The trade was a 8.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 140,042 shares in the company, valued at $22,598,577.54. This represents a 35.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 84,748 shares of company stock worth $13,748,660 over the last ninety days. 51.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Penske Automotive Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.00.
Read Our Latest Analysis on Penske Automotive Group
Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 0.5%
Shares of Penske Automotive Group stock traded up $0.97 on Wednesday, hitting $188.22. 218,694 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 227,399. The company has a fifty day moving average of $176.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $165.22. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $134.05 and a one year high of $189.51. The company has a market capitalization of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.10 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.21.
Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.22. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business had revenue of $7.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side 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 authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 14th that authorizes the company to buyback $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.
Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.74%.
About Penske Automotive Group
(
Free Report)
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.
Further Reading

Before you consider Penske Automotive Group, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Penske Automotive Group wasn't on the list.
While Penske Automotive Group currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
Wondering where to start (or end) with AI stocks? These 10 simple stocks can help investors build long-term wealth as artificial intelligence continues to grow into the future.
Get This Free Report