Hancock Whitney Corp Invests $306,000 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 purchased a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,127 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $306,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PAG. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 421.5% during the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 339 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 51.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 353.0% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 453 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 31.0% during 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. Finally, State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $105,000. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Stephens reiterated 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.00.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

PAG traded up $1.23 during trading on Thursday, hitting $185.46. 299,991 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 236,954. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.05 and a twelve month high of $189.51. The company has a market cap of $12.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $179.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.33.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.22. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $7.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast 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 given a dividend of $1.32 per share. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.74%.

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

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In other news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total transaction of $200,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $289,906.96. Following the transaction, 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. 51.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Penske Automotive Group 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.