Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Sells 5,990 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC cut its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 54.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,036 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,990 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC's holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nilsine Partners LLC boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 17.6% in the first quarter. Nilsine Partners LLC now owns 20,653 shares of the company's stock worth $2,974,000 after buying an additional 3,092 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 4.8% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $469,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 56,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,121,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 528 shares of the company's stock valued at $76,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the 1st quarter worth $648,000. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of the firm'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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,044 shares of company stock worth $13,257,948. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. 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. Stephens reaffirmed 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, Bank of America increased their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $172.00.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of Penske Automotive Group stock traded up $0.28 during trading on Friday, reaching $173.59. 287,915 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 204,578. The stock's fifty day moving average is $163.38 and its 200 day moving average is $159.79. The firm has a market cap of $11.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.05 and a 1 year high of $180.12.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. 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 declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 14th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management 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 given a dividend of $1.26 per share. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. This represents a $5.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Penske Automotive Group's payout ratio is presently 35.49%.

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.