Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG Stock Holdings Boosted by Diamant Asset Management Inc.

Diamant Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 14,852.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 884,411 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 878,496 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $132,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Navalign LLC bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 37.5% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 186.6% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 321 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PAG. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $195.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Stephens boosted their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $193.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Penske Automotive Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $182.62.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of PAG stock opened at $182.24 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $169.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $162.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.87. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $140.12 and a fifty-two week high of $189.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $3.05 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.14. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 15.13%. The company had revenue of $7.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.66 EPS. Penske Automotive Group’s revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 26th were paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. This represents a $5.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 42.39%.

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In related news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 2nd. The shares were 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 directly owned 17,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,022,992.80. This trade represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,488 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.02, for a total transaction of $238,109.76. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 52.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.