Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Raises Stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,236 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 606,709 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,487,000 after acquiring an additional 20,506 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 18.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 155,560 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,714,000 after purchasing an additional 24,274 shares during the period. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL increased its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 99,943 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,235,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at $2,821,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 12,001 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,830,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PAG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $185.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Penske Automotive Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $165.00.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Penske Automotive Group stock opened at $159.49 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $152.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $158.22. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.05 and a 1-year high of $180.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 0.90. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.27 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.68 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.02%. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.21 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is presently 34.37%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total transaction of $237,683.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 52.40% of the company’s stock.

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.