Moran Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 65.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,605 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 60,734 shares during the period. Penske Automotive Group accounts for about 0.7% of Moran Wealth Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Moran Wealth Management LLC owned 0.23% of Penske Automotive Group worth $22,116,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,999,191 shares of the company's stock valued at $304,757,000 after purchasing an additional 12,912 shares in the last quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 806,860 shares of the company's stock valued at $122,998,000 after acquiring an additional 13,106 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 606,709 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,487,000 after acquiring an additional 20,506 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 263,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,179,000 after acquiring an additional 51,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 17.4% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 259,513 shares of the company's stock worth $39,560,000 after purchasing an additional 38,388 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of PAG traded up $2.46 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $177.76. 354,707 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 243,369. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.05 and a 1 year high of $180.12. The firm's fifty day moving average is $161.90 and its 200-day moving average is $159.49. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.92.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.68 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.10% and a return on equity of 17.80%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.21 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $1.26 per share. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.49%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PAG shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen raised Penske Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. 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 research note on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective 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. Finally, Stephens reissued 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $172.00.

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,529 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.64, 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, CEO Roger S. Penske sold 77,357 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.37, for a total transaction of $12,483,099.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 140,042 shares in the company, valued at $22,598,577.54. This trade represents a 35.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 82,044 shares of company stock worth $13,257,948. 52.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.