Invesco Ltd. Sells 10,291 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 216,354 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,291 shares during the quarter. Invesco Ltd. owned 0.32% of Penske Automotive Group worth $32,981,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 262 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth $76,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 749 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PAG. Citigroup initiated coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Penske Automotive Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total transaction of $237,683.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total value of $1,513,320.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,917 shares in the company, valued at $5,003,508.51. This trade represents a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of PAG stock traded up $4.35 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $159.06. The company had a trading volume of 30,143 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,214. The company has a market cap of $10.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.57 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.08. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.05 and a 12 month high of $180.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.17. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.56 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.22 dividend. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.49%.

About Penske Automotive Group

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.