Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. Buys 56,669 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Key Points

• Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. by 7% in the first quarter, owning a total of 863,529 shares valued at $124.3 million.
• CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of the company, reducing his ownership by 35.58%, while insiders collectively sold over 82,000 shares worth approximately $13.3 million in the last three months.
• Penske Automotive Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.32 per share, reflecting a yield of 2.9% and demonstrating confidence in the company's financial stability.

Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 7.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 863,529 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 56,669 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. owned 1.31% of Penske Automotive Group worth $124,331,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAG. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $747,000 after buying an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 10.7% in the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 4,480 shares of the company's stock valued at $683,000 after buying an additional 432 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,651 shares of the company's stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 97.8% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 45,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,936,000 after buying an additional 22,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,018,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.00.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

PAG traded up $6.0680 on Friday, hitting $187.0580. The company's stock had a trading volume of 120,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,207. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $175.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $164.69. The firm has a market cap of $12.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.03 and a beta of 0.87. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.05 and a 12 month high of $188.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $7.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.98 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 17.43%. Penske Automotive Group's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.61 EPS. Analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.32 dividend. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. Penske Automotive Group's payout ratio is 36.74%.

Penske Automotive Group declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 14th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.64, for a total transaction of $247,147.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,454,211.10. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 84,748 shares of company stock worth $13,748,660 in the last 90 days. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.