California State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Key Points

• California State Teachers Retirement System cut its Penske Automotive Group stake by 15.7% in the second quarter, selling 3,833 shares and retaining 20,551 shares worth approximately $3.68 million. Institutional investors collectively own 77.08% of PAG.
• Penske reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $3.62 versus the $3.42 consensus and revenue of $8.51 billion, up 11.1% year over year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $1.44 per share, or $5.76 annually, representing a 2.7% yield. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $208.50.

California State Teachers Retirement System decreased its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,551 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,833 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System's holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $3,677,601 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kendall Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,303,000. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth about $3,679,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 15.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 81,500 shares of the company's stock worth $12,186,000 after purchasing an additional 11,000 shares in the last quarter. Independent Solutions Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,649,000. Finally, Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,518,000. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Down 0.0%

Penske Automotive Group stock traded down $0.00 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $217.15. The stock had a trading volume of 114,106 shares, compared to its average volume of 324,534. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.12 and a fifty-two week high of $227.00. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $212.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.26 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00 and a beta of 0.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.98.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.42 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $8.51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.98 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $1.44 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 14th. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PAG shares. UBS Group set a $190.00 price target on Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $170.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered Penske Automotive Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $199.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Penske Automotive Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.50.

Penske Automotive Group Profile

Penske Automotive Group, Inc NYSE: PAG is a diversified international transportation services company that operates automotive and commercial vehicle dealerships, as well as businesses serving the truck leasing and transportation industries. Its automotive retail operations sell new and used vehicles from a broad range of manufacturers and provide related services, including vehicle financing and insurance products, parts, maintenance and repair.

The company operates automotive dealerships in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Germany and Italy.

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