Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Sells 8,922 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lowered its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 2.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 402,418 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,922 shares during the quarter. Penske Automotive Group comprises 0.7% of Gamco Investors INC. ET AL’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL owned approximately 0.61% of Penske Automotive Group worth $69,985,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 28.4% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 380,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,751,000 after buying an additional 84,045 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 68,884 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,918,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group during the 1st quarter worth $42,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 8.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 423 shares during the period. Finally, Keybank National Association OH acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the second quarter valued at about $226,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PAG shares. Bank of America assumed coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $195.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Monday, December 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.43.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PAG opened at $156.77 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $162.71 and its 200-day moving average is $167.49. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.05 and a 52-week high of $189.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 0.99. The company has a market cap of $10.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.61, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.90.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The company reported $2.91 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.19 by ($0.28). Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 15.77%. The company had revenue of $7.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.54 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $1.40 dividend. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.38. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $5.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.6%. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is currently 41.48%.

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.