Cerity Partners LLC Trims Stock Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,932 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,511 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $1,430,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Penske Automotive Group by 421.5% in the 1st quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 339 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted 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 valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $76,000. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 31.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 528 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of PAG opened at $166.25 on Tuesday. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $170.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a current ratio of 0.90. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.05 and a 1 year high of $186.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a PE ratio of 11.87 and a beta of 0.91.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.80% and a net margin of 3.10%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.21 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 14th that allows the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.03%. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.64, for a total value of $247,147.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total value of $12,483,099.09. Following the completion of the sale, 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 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 three months. 52.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on PAG. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Penske Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America boosted their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.00.

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.

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