Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP Trims Stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP lowered its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 8.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,818 shares of the company’s stock after selling 557 shares during the quarter. Advantage Alpha Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $887,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAG. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 39,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,426,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663 shares during the last quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth about $240,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 176.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,166,000 after purchasing an additional 8,504 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,221 shares of the company’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $287,000. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the business’s 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total transaction of $1,513,320.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,917 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com raised Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.50.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE PAG opened at $149.40 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a PE ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 1.24. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $142.32 and a 1-year high of $180.12. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $163.05 and a 200-day moving average of $159.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.17. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.02%. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $1.22 dividend. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.