1,745 Shares in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Bought by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,745 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $266,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 14,833.3% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 445 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 45,300.0% in the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $94,000. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PAG. Benchmark began coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.50.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Down 0.4 %

PAG stock opened at $149.40 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.69. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $142.32 and a fifty-two week high of $180.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.91. The company has a market cap of $9.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.87 and a beta of 1.24.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is 35.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.