Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 174.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 40,998 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 26,085 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Penske Automotive Group worth $6,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of PAG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 263,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,179,000 after purchasing an additional 51,720 shares during the last quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Bruni J V & Co. Co. now owns 200,142 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,510,000 after purchasing an additional 3,738 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 145,579 shares of the company's stock valued at $22,192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,829 shares during the last quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 13.0% during the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 82,535 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,582,000 after purchasing an additional 9,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 4.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 63,548 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,321,000 after purchasing an additional 2,475 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PAG. StockNews.com raised shares of Penske Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $172.50.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of PAG traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $148.52. The stock had a trading volume of 175,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 177,742. The firm has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.24. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.32 and a 12 month high of $180.12. The business has a fifty day moving average of $163.24 and a 200 day moving average of $160.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.56 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. Equities analysts predict that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total transaction of $237,683.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total transaction of $1,513,320.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,003,508.51. The trade was a 23.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.