Millennium Management LLC Acquires 10,522 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,278 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 10,522 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.19% of Penske Automotive Group worth $18,818,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,036,010 shares of the company's stock valued at $326,800,000 after buying an additional 5,399 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 777,574 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,874,000 after acquiring an additional 13,968 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 31.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 417,932 shares of the company's stock worth $62,280,000 after purchasing an additional 99,164 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 300,476 shares of the company's stock worth $48,229,000 after purchasing an additional 18,310 shares during the period. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 6.2% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 85,500 shares of the company's stock valued at $13,850,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PAG. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Penske Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $115.00 to $180.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America upped their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $161.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $175.40.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

PAG stock traded up $2.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $158.06. 136,225 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 190,009. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.95 and a 52 week high of $179.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $162.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $156.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 1.16.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.39 by $0.22. The company had revenue of $7.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.59 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 3.05%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $4.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were paid a dividend of $1.07 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.71%. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.76%.

Insider Transactions at Penske Automotive Group

In related news, Director John Barr sold 716 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.71, for a total value of $122,228.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 51.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Penske Automotive Group 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.