JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Stock Holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 105,362 shares of the company’s stock after selling 799 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $17,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 14,833.3% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 448 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 445 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 45,300.0% in the third quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 454 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 453 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter worth $94,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $112,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 25.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after buying an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PAG shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Penske Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens initiated coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $161.00 target price for the company. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $170.25.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 0.5 %

PAG opened at $152.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $10.19 billion, a PE ratio of 11.69 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $159.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $142.32 and a 52 week high of $179.72.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.41 by ($0.02). Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The firm had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.90 earnings per share. Penske Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were issued a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.07. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.48%.

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.