Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Stock Position Lifted by Brown Advisory Inc.

Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 153.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,307 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $531,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 164.3% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 292,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,908,000 after acquiring an additional 181,995 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 4,712.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,044 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,036,000 after acquiring an additional 70,547 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 206.5% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 73,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,284,000 after acquiring an additional 49,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 127.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 84,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,157,000 after buying an additional 47,488 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.20.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

NYSE:PAG opened at $152.69 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.62 and a beta of 1.21. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $136.45 and a one year high of $180.84. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $154.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $153.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.23.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.35 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $7.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.27% and a return on equity of 21.72%. Penske Automotive Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.31 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 17th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.70%.

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In related news, Director John Barr sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $246,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,299.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 52.20% of the company’s stock.

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.