22,585 Shares in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG Purchased by Trust Co. of Vermont

Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 22,585 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,042,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PAG. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in Penske Automotive Group by 15.1% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 441 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $124,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 18,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,167,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 242 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,630 shares of the company’s stock worth $416,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 17,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,022,992.80. This represents a 7.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 52.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PAG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup downgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $199.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Stephens lifted their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $166.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays upped their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $238.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Penske Automotive Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $207.88.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of PAG opened at $218.27 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.98. The firm has a market cap of $14.33 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.84. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $197.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.11. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $140.12 and a twelve month high of $227.00.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported $3.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $8.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a $1.44 dividend. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.42. This represents a $5.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 42.42%.

Penske Automotive Group 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.