Strs Ohio Reduces Stock Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Strs Ohio lessened its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 6.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 11,430 shares of the company’s stock after selling 816 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $1,964,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 1.1% during the second quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 5,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $986,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P grew its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 1,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 18.6% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 2,306 shares of the company’s stock worth $332,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,478 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on PAG. Benchmark lifted their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $185.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total value of $200,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 18,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,454,211.10. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total value of $289,906.96. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 1,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $276,351.46. The trade was a 51.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:PAG opened at $156.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.97. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.05 and a 1 year high of $189.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $171.32.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.25). Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 3.08%.The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.39 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.85%.

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.