Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Increases Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. by 49.7%, now holding 7,878 shares valued at approximately $1.44 million.
• Multiple analysts have raised their price targets for Penske Automotive Group, with Morgan Stanley setting a new target of $190 and Citigroup recommending a buy rating with a target of $206.
• Penske Automotive Group has declared a quarterly dividend of $1.32 per share, reflecting a 3.0% yield and an increase from the previous dividend of $1.26.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 49.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 7,878 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $1,438,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the first quarter worth about $42,000. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 421.5% in the first quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 339 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 51.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398 shares of the company's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 353.0% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 453 shares of the company's stock worth $65,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 31.0% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 528 shares of the company's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PAG shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued 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 $184.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Penske Automotive Group news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,922 shares in the company, valued at $3,454,211.10. The trade was a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total transaction of $289,906.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,529 shares in the company, valued at $276,351.46. This trade represents a 51.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 52.40% of the company's stock.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 0.6%

PAG stock opened at $173.71 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.05 and a twelve month high of $189.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $178.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.60.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The business had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.61 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

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

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PAG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.