New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,420,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 14,833.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on PAG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Penske Automotive Group news, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total transaction of $1,513,320.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,003,508.51. This represents a 23.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Down 2.4 %

PAG stock opened at $140.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $162.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $159.40. The company has a market capitalization of $9.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.25 and a beta of 1.24. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $139.56 and a twelve month high of $180.12.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.56 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. On average, equities research 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.49%.

Penske Automotive Group 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.