Rhumbline Advisers Trims Holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Key Points

• Rhumbline Advisers reduced its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 5.0%, selling 2,711 shares during the first quarter and now owns 51,352 shares worth approximately $7.39 million.
• Penske Automotive Group's quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $3.78, exceeding estimates, but its revenue of $7.66 billion fell short of forecasts by approximately 4%.
• The company recently increased its dividend from $1.26 to $1.32 per share, which results in a dividend yield of 2.8%.

Rhumbline Advisers trimmed its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 5.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,352 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,711 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.08% of Penske Automotive Group worth $7,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 3.7% in the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 1,750 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 2.9% in the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,478 shares of the company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock worth $648,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 7.4% in the first quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,447 shares of the company's stock worth $208,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd raised its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 2.4% in the first quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 4,260 shares of the company's stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

PAG opened at $185.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $179.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.48. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.05 and a 1 year high of $189.51. The stock has a market cap of $12.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.91 and a beta of 0.89.

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

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total value of $200,805.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,454,211.10. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total value of $289,906.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $276,351.46. The trade was a 51.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PAG. Bank of America raised their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Penske Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup lifted their price target 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. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.00.

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.

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