State Street Corp Decreases Holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

State Street Corp cut its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 608,307 shares of the company’s stock after selling 12,117 shares during the quarter. State Street Corp’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $98,801,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 374 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the second quarter worth $69,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 14,833.3% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 445 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $112,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of Penske Automotive Group stock opened at $163.26 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $159.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.71. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $142.32 and a 1 year high of $179.72. The firm has a market cap of $10.90 billion, a PE ratio of 12.51 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($0.02). Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The business had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a dividend of $1.19 per share. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on PAG shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $180.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Stephens began coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $170.25.

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.