Martingale Asset Management L P Trims Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Martingale Asset Management L P lowered its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 3.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,687 shares of the company’s stock after selling 68 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $257,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 10,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted 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 worth $40,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,055 shares of the company’s stock valued at $313,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of PAG stock opened at $151.67 on Monday. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.05 and a fifty-two week high of $180.12. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $157.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.45. The stock has a market cap of $10.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.56 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total transaction of $1,513,320.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,003,508.51. The trade was a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on PAG shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $166.25.

Penske Automotive Group Company 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.