Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Shares Bought by Nilsine Partners LLC

Nilsine Partners LLC lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 17.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,653 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,092 shares during the period. Nilsine Partners LLC's holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $2,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 54,063 shares of the company's stock worth $8,241,000 after purchasing an additional 2,446 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,055 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 128.9% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 11,973 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,825,000 after buying an additional 6,743 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $417,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 263,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,179,000 after buying an additional 51,720 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Penske Automotive Group news, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 140,042 shares in the company, valued at $22,598,577.54. This trade represents a 35.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Shane M. Spradlin sold 3,158 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total value of $527,701.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,040,999.20. The trade was a 8.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 82,044 shares of company stock valued at $13,257,948 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 52.40% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PAG. Wall Street Zen upgraded Penske Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup upped their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $172.00.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of PAG traded up $2.46 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $177.76. The company had a trading volume of 354,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 204,258. The company has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.49. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.05 and a 12-month high of $180.12.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.60 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.21 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 14th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. 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 dividend yield of 2.84%. Penske Automotive Group's payout ratio is 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.