Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Holdings Lowered by Cynosure Group LLC

Cynosure Group LLC cut its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 20.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,824 shares of the company’s stock after selling 458 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 44.8% during 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 in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $40,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter worth about $76,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter worth about $94,000. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 749 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

Penske Automotive Group stock opened at $141.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The company has a market cap of $9.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.27 and a beta of 1.24. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.21 and a fifty-two week high of $180.12. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $160.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $159.21.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.56 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $1.22 dividend. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total value of $1,513,320.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,003,508.51. This represents a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total value of $237,683.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 52.40% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PAG. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com raised Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” 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.