Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 3,899 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 259,672 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,899 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.39% of Penske Automotive Group worth $37,388,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAG. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 9.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,367 shares of the company's stock worth $485,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 10,253 shares of the company's stock worth $1,563,000 after buying an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 15.8% during the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,006 shares of the company's stock worth $1,729,000 after buying an additional 1,639 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 33.4% during the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 999 shares of the company's stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the first quarter worth about $648,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE PAG traded down $1.42 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $175.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 168,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 205,101. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.05 and a 52-week high of $186.33. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $170.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.91.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.12. The company 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 3.10% and a return on equity of 17.80%. Penske Automotive Group's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.21 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. Penske Automotive Group's payout ratio is currently 35.49%.

Penske Automotive Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 14th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PAG shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Penske Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $172.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.64, for a total transaction of $247,147.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Shane M. Spradlin sold 3,158 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $527,701.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 36,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,040,999.20. This represents a 8.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 82,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,257,948 over the last 90 days. 51.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.