Legal & General Group Plc Takes $4.84 Million Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Key Points

• Legal & General Group initiated a $4.84 million position in Penske Automotive Group by purchasing 27,068 shares during the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 77.08% of PAG.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $208.50; targets recently ranged from $190 to $225, while Benchmark downgraded the stock to “hold.”
• Penske reported quarterly EPS of $3.62, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 11.1% year over year to $8.51 billion. The company also increased its quarterly dividend to $1.44 per share, equating to a 2.6% annualized yield.

Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 27,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,844,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PAG. Navalign LLC acquired a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 242 shares of the company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 179.0% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 279 shares of the company's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on PAG. Benchmark downgraded Penske Automotive Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $170.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, UBS Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Penske Automotive Group currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.50.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of PAG opened at $219.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $14.41 billion, a PE ratio of 16.17 and a beta of 0.84. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.01. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $140.12 and a 52-week high of $227.00.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.42 by $0.20. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $8.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.61 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th were paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Penske Automotive Group's payout ratio is 42.42%.

Penske Automotive Group Company Profile

Penske Automotive Group, Inc NYSE: PAG, headquartered in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, is an international transportation services company primarily focused on automotive and commercial truck dealerships. The company retails new and pre-owned vehicles across a broad spectrum of brands, while offering parts, maintenance, collision repair and reconditioning services. In addition, Penske provides financing and insurance products through its integrated finance and insurance operations, supporting both retail customers and commercial clients.

Formed in 1990 as United Auto Group and publicly traded since 1999, Penske Automotive Group has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a network of dealerships and service centers across the United States and Europe.

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