Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Stock Holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 950.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,905 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,438 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PAG. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 37.5% in 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 period. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the first quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 186.6% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 321 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.80, for a total value of $257,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,022,992.80. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,488 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.02, for a total transaction of $238,109.76. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 52.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.00.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of PAG stock opened at $215.85 on Tuesday. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.12 and a 12-month high of $219.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $181.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.71 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 15.13% and a net margin of 2.85%.The firm’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.66 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $1.44 per share. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is currently 42.39%.

Penske Automotive Group Company 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.