Hancock Whitney Corp Takes Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Key Points

• Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new stake in Penske Automotive Group, purchasing 2,127 shares valued at approximately $306,000 in the first quarter.
• Company insiders recently engaged in significant sales, with Director Lisa Ann Davis selling 1,604 shares and CFO Michelle Hulgrave selling 1,100 shares, reducing their respective holdings by 51.20% and 5.49%.
• Penske Automotive Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.32 per share and a share buyback program authorizing up to $250 million in stock repurchases.

Hancock Whitney Corp acquired a new stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 2,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 3.7% during the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 1,750 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 2.9% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,478 shares of the company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $648,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 7.4% in the first quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $208,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 31.0% in the first 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Penske Automotive Group news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total value of $200,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,211.10. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total value of $289,906.96. Following the sale, the director owned 1,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at $276,351.46. This trade represents a 51.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 51.70% of the company's stock.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 3.1%

PAG stock traded down $5.72 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $179.69. The company had a trading volume of 258,715 shares, compared to its average volume of 187,144. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $11.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.50 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $179.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.55. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.05 and a 52 week high of $189.51.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.32 dividend. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.74%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.00.

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.