Rhumbline Advisers Cuts Stock Position 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 reduced its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 5.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 51,352 shares of the company's stock after selling 2,711 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.08% of Penske Automotive Group worth $7,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 28.4% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 380,267 shares of the company's stock worth $54,751,000 after purchasing an additional 84,045 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the first quarter worth $10,004,000. Moran Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 65.4% in the first quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC now owns 153,605 shares of the company's stock worth $22,116,000 after purchasing an additional 60,734 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 21,771.8% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 57,304 shares of the company's stock worth $8,251,000 after purchasing an additional 57,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 7.0% in the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 863,529 shares of the company's stock worth $124,331,000 after purchasing an additional 56,669 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PAG traded up $0.78 on Wednesday, reaching $178.87. The company's stock had a trading volume of 43,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,143. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $166.71. The company has a market cap of $11.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.45 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.90. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.05 and a 52-week high of $189.51.

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

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $1.32 per share. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.74%.

Insider Transactions at Penske Automotive Group

In other news, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of Penske Automotive Group 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 transaction, the director owned 1,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at $276,351.46. The trade was a 51.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total transaction of $200,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,211.10. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 52.40% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Penske Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Stephens reiterated 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, Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $182.50.

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.