Machina Capital S.A.S. Acquires New Stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,915 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $329,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versor Investments LP increased its position in Penske Automotive Group by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 3,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $633,000 after buying an additional 793 shares in the last quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the second quarter worth approximately $221,000. Keybank National Association OH bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the second quarter worth approximately $226,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 2.0% in the second quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,105,000 after buying an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 8.7% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,281 shares of the company’s stock worth $907,000 after buying an additional 423 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on PAG. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Benchmark lifted their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Friday, October 31st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $185.17.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

PAG stock opened at $156.81 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03 and a beta of 0.88. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $134.05 and a 1 year high of $189.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.21. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $173.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $171.32.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.48 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.71 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 16.84% and a net margin of 3.08%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.39 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a $1.38 dividend. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.32. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $5.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total value of $289,906.96. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,529 shares in the company, valued at $276,351.46. This trade represents a 51.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,922 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,454,211.10. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

About Penske Automotive Group

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.