EntryPoint Capital LLC Acquires 1,276 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 77.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,931 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,276 shares during the quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in PAG. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 14,833.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its position in Penske Automotive Group by 45,300.0% during the 3rd quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 453 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $94,000. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total value of $237,683.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $5,003,508.51. This trade represents a 23.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of PAG stock opened at $153.82 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.27 billion, a PE ratio of 11.19 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $163.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.64. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $142.32 and a one year high of $180.12.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.17. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The company had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.56 billion. As a group, research 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 was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued 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 3.17%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on PAG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.50.

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.