Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Buys 1,661 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Key Points

• Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 39.6%, acquiring an additional 1,661 shares, which brought their total to 5,852 shares worth approximately $1,005,000.
• Chief Financial Officer Michelle Hulgrave and Director Lisa Ann Davis both sold shares of the company in August, reducing their holdings significantly by 5.49% and 51.20%, respectively.
• Penske Automotive Group announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.38 per share, reflecting a positive change in their dividend policy, with an annualized yield of 3.3%.

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 39.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,852 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,661 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC's holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $1,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 51.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 18.6% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 402 shares of the company's stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 353.0% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 453 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after acquiring an additional 353 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total value of $200,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,454,211.10. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total transaction of $289,906.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 1,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $276,351.46. The trade was a 51.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 52.40% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

PAG opened at $169.69 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $178.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $169.80. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.05 and a 12-month high of $189.51.

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

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $1.38 dividend. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.74%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Benchmark lifted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $185.17.

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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