Inspire Investing LLC Has $929,000 Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Inspire Investing LLC trimmed its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 3.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,719 shares of the company’s stock after selling 221 shares during the quarter. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $929,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gabelli Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 6.2% during the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 85,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,850,000 after purchasing an additional 5,000 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 15.4% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 30,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,935,000 after buying an additional 4,057 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at about $1,516,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the second quarter worth about $3,742,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,036,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $326,800,000 after acquiring an additional 5,399 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PAG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $140.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $115.00 to $180.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Stephens began coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $161.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, Director John Barr sold 716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.71, for a total value of $122,228.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Penske Automotive Group Trading Up 1.4 %

PAG opened at $155.17 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.84. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.95 and a 1-year high of $179.72. The company has a market cap of $10.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.43 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $3.61 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.39 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $7.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.59 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 19.82% and a net margin of 3.05%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.41 EPS. Analysts predict that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 15th were given a $1.07 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This represents a $4.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.96. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.52%.

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.