LSV Asset Management Sells 19,159 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Key Points

• LSV Asset Management trimmed its Penske Automotive Group stake by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 19,159 shares and leaving it with 745,533 shares worth about $118 million.
• Penske Automotive reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $3.05 per share versus estimates of $2.91, while revenue came in at $7.86 billion and slightly beat forecasts.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.42 per share from $1.40, implying an annualized yield of about 3.4%; analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus price target of $184.86.

LSV Asset Management decreased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 745,533 shares of the company's stock after selling 19,159 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management owned approximately 1.13% of Penske Automotive Group worth $118,010,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PAG. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 48.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,391,281 shares of the company's stock valued at $241,958,000 after purchasing an additional 456,611 shares in the last quarter. Hamlin Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $20,203,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 21.1% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 681,741 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,953,000 after purchasing an additional 118,976 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 28.4% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 380,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,751,000 after purchasing an additional 84,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 3,302.9% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 64,995 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,288,000 after purchasing an additional 63,085 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,488 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.02, for a total transaction of $238,109.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 52.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 2.0%

NYSE:PAG opened at $164.95 on Friday. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $140.12 and a one year high of $189.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $156.76 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $3.05 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.14. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The business had revenue of $7.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.66 earnings per share. Penske Automotive Group's quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. Penske Automotive Group's payout ratio is presently 41.79%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on PAG shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $193.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Stephens lifted their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Penske Automotive Group from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $184.86.

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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