Vident Advisory LLC Has $550,000 Stock Holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 128.0% in Q1, owning 3,822 shares valued at $550,000.
• Penske Automotive Group reported earnings per share of $3.78 for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, despite a year-over-year revenue decline of 0.4%.
• The company initiated a $250 million stock buyback program and recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.26 to $1.32.

Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 128.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,822 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,146 shares during the quarter. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,004,832 shares of the company's stock worth $288,656,000 after acquiring an additional 5,641 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Penske Automotive Group by 7.0% during the first quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 863,529 shares of the company's stock valued at $124,331,000 after purchasing an additional 56,669 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 223,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,198,000 after buying an additional 7,276 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 18.5% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Moran Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, 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 transaction, the director directly owned 1,529 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $276,351.46. This trade represents a 51.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were 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 directly owned 18,922 shares in the company, valued at $3,454,211.10. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price 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. Bank of America boosted 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 upped their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Four investment 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, Penske Automotive Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $181.00.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 0.4%

PAG stock traded up $0.67 during trading on Thursday, reaching $184.90. The stock had a trading volume of 108,248 shares, compared to its average volume of 235,772. The company has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.87 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $179.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.05 and a 1-year high of $189.51.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the company posted $3.61 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th were given a dividend of $1.32 per share. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.74%.

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.