Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Takes $883,000 Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 5,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $883,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PAG. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 164.3% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 292,758 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,908,000 after purchasing an additional 181,995 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 43.3% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 289,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,423,000 after acquiring an additional 87,590 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 4,712.6% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 72,044 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,036,000 after acquiring an additional 70,547 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 15,960.7% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 66,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,750,000 after acquiring an additional 66,556 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 206.5% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 73,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,284,000 after acquiring an additional 49,544 shares during the period. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Barr sold 1,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $246,480.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 716 shares in the company, valued at $110,299.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,604 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.38, for a total transaction of $239,605.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 51,001 shares in the company, valued at $7,618,529.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Barr sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $246,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,299.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

PAG stock opened at $153.45 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.80 and a beta of 1.19. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.79. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $133.72 and a one year high of $180.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $3.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.66 by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $7.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.18 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.57% and a return on equity of 24.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.20.

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.