3,220 Shares in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG Acquired by Capula Management Ltd

Capula Management Ltd purchased a new position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 3,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Navalign LLC purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 242 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the first quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 186.6% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $199.00 to $210.00 in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings upgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. UBS Group set a $190.00 target price on Penske Automotive Group in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Benchmark downgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $196.00.

Insider Transactions at Penske Automotive Group

In other news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.80, for a total transaction of $257,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,022,992.80. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.02, for a total transaction of $238,109.76. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 52.90% of the company’s stock.

Key Penske Automotive Group News

Here are the key news stories impacting Penske Automotive Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Penske Automotive confirmed receipt of an unsolicited, preliminary, non-binding proposal from Penske Corporation and Mitsui to take the company private at $210 per share, a premium to the recent trading level and a signal that a buyout could be near. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company announced its 23rd consecutive quarterly dividend increase, lifting the payout to $1.44 per share from $1.42, which supports the stock’s income appeal and reflects continued cash generation. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several news reports highlighted the potential buyout as a roughly $3.8 billion to $4 billion deal, reinforcing speculation that shareholders could receive a takeover premium. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Citigroup downgraded PAG to “neutral” from “buy,” but raised its price target to $210, which is still close to the buyout talk and suggests limited near-term upside from current levels. Article Title

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 0.5%

PAG stock opened at $215.71 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $179.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.53. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.12 and a fifty-two week high of $219.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market cap of $14.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.87.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.71 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 15.13%. Penske Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.66 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.44 dividend. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is presently 42.39%.

Penske Automotive Group Profile

Penske Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE: PAG), headquartered in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, is an international transportation services company primarily focused on automotive and commercial truck dealerships. The company retails new and pre-owned vehicles across a broad spectrum of brands, while offering parts, maintenance, collision repair and reconditioning services. In addition, Penske provides financing and insurance products through its integrated finance and insurance operations, supporting both retail customers and commercial clients.

Formed in 1990 as United Auto Group and publicly traded since 1999, Penske Automotive Group has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a network of dealerships and service centers across the United States and Europe.