BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Purchases New Stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $745,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in PAG. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 15,960.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 66,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,750,000 after acquiring an additional 66,556 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,785 shares of the company’s stock worth $287,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 142,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,832,000 after buying an additional 3,844 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 119.7% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 39,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,397,000 after buying an additional 21,712 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,501,000. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In related news, Director John Barr sold 716 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.71, for a total value of $122,228.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 51.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $157.75.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE PAG opened at $170.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $159.02 and its 200-day moving average is $154.95. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $137.95 and a one year high of $179.72.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.59 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 3.05%. Penske Automotive Group’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th will be given a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.76%.

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.