Trexquant Investment LP Buys New Holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,270 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $471,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAG. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 155,560 shares of the company's stock valued at $23,714,000 after buying an additional 24,274 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 4,140 shares of the company's stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $278,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in Penske Automotive Group by 64.6% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 36,474 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,560,000 after acquiring an additional 14,321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Penske Automotive Group by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 22,176 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,381,000 after acquiring an additional 1,770 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PAG. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Penske Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $181.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 transaction of $200,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,922 shares in the company, valued at $3,454,211.10. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 sale, the director owned 1,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $276,351.46. This trade represents a 51.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

Penske Automotive Group stock opened at $187.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.21. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.05 and a 12 month high of $189.51. The company has a market cap of $12.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.04 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average is $178.81 and its 200-day moving average is $166.07.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $7.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.98 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities 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 paid a dividend of $1.32 per share. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 15th. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Penske Automotive Group's payout ratio is 36.74%.

Penske Automotive Group announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Penske Automotive Group Company 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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