First Trust Advisors LP Sells 8,193 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 147,032 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,193 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.22% of Penske Automotive Group worth $22,414,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 262 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter worth $76,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Penske Automotive Group during the third quarter valued at about $94,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 33.5% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 749 shares of the company's stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PAG. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup started coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $185.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Penske Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $170.00.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

PAG traded up $0.61 during trading on Monday, hitting $157.91. The company's stock had a trading volume of 226,733 shares, compared to its average volume of 195,502. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 1.03. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $154.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.16. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.05 and a 12 month high of $180.12.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.17. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.02%. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.56 billion. Sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio is 35.49%.

Insider Activity

In other Penske Automotive Group news, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total transaction of $237,683.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of Penske Automotive Group 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,917 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,003,508.51. This trade represents a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.