Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Buys 3,253 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 102.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,426 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,253 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $1,150,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PAG. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 14,852.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 884,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,237,000 after purchasing an additional 878,496 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 39,232.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 863,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,660,000 after buying an additional 861,157 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,137,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,293,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,761,000 after buying an additional 156,308 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 375,767 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,480,000 after buying an additional 122,895 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE PAG opened at $218.20 on Thursday. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $140.12 and a 12-month high of $227.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $194.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.87. 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 stock has a market cap of $14.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.84.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.42 by $0.20. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.81% and a return on equity of 14.78%. The firm had revenue of $8.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.78 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.57 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, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $1.44 per share. This represents a $5.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.42%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,500 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.80, for a total transaction of $257,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 17,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,022,992.80. The trade was a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,488 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.02, for a total value of $238,109.76. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 52.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on PAG. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $170.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Penske Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.88.

Penske Automotive Group Company Profile

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.