The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Makes New Investment in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,637,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in PAG. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the second quarter worth approximately $417,516,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Penske Automotive Group by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,484,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $234,914,000 after acquiring an additional 92,794 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Penske Automotive Group by 11.9% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,447,910 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,489,000 after acquiring an additional 154,443 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 14,852.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 884,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $132,237,000 after purchasing an additional 878,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 39,232.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 863,352 shares of the company’s stock worth $136,660,000 after purchasing an additional 861,157 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of Penske Automotive Group stock opened at $218.29 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $206.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.07 and a beta of 0.84. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $140.12 and a 1-year high of $227.00.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $3.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.42 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $8.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.98 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 14.78%. Penske Automotive Group’s revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.78 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th were given a $1.44 dividend. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 14th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.42%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on PAG shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $170.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Bank of America raised their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Penske Automotive Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, UBS Group set a $190.00 price target on Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $208.50.

About Penske Automotive Group

Penske Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE: PAG), headquartered in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, is an international transportation services company primarily focused on automotive and commercial truck dealerships. The company retails new and pre-owned vehicles across a broad spectrum of brands, while offering parts, maintenance, collision repair and reconditioning services. In addition, Penske provides financing and insurance products through its integrated finance and insurance operations, supporting both retail customers and commercial clients.

Formed in 1990 as United Auto Group and publicly traded since 1999, Penske Automotive Group has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a network of dealerships and service centers across the United States and Europe.