Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. increased its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,779 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,912 shares during the period. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.10% of Penske Automotive Group worth $10,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,117 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 91.2% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 165 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,830 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 2,651 shares of the company’s stock valued at $426,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $750,000. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $157.75.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PAG traded down $1.79 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $154.76. The company had a trading volume of 85,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 192,835. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.95 and a fifty-two week high of $177.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.23. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $151.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $152.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.74 and a beta of 1.18.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.21 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.35 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $7.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.52 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 21.72% and a net margin of 3.27%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.31 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.39 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 4th. Investors of record on Monday, May 20th were paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 17th. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is 26.70%.

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.