Marshall Wace LLP Acquires New Stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 2,101 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $313,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 85,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,850,000 after acquiring an additional 5,000 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 15.4% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 30,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,935,000 after acquiring an additional 4,057 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at $1,516,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at $3,742,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,036,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,800,000 after acquiring an additional 5,399 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised Penske Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $115.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $161.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.40.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

Penske Automotive Group stock opened at $155.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.95 and a 1-year high of $179.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.76 and a 200-day moving average of $155.90. The firm has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 1.16.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.22. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 19.82%. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.41 earnings per share. Penske Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.82 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $4.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.76%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Penske Automotive Group

In related news, Director John Barr sold 716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.71, for a total transaction of $122,228.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

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.