Forum Financial Management LP Increases Stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,513 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 187 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $432,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 9.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 295 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 15.8% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 1,639 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 33.4% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the first quarter worth about $247,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 51.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 398 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PAG. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b+)” rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Benchmark upped their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $185.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total transaction of $289,906.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,529 shares in the company, valued at $276,351.46. This represents a 51.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total transaction of $200,805.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 18,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,211.10. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:PAG opened at $164.92 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $177.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.57. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.05 and a 52 week high of $189.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. The stock has a market cap of $10.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.88.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.22. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.13% and a return on equity of 17.43%. The firm had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $1.38 per share. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is currently 36.74%.

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.