Trust Co. of Vermont Lowers Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. $PAG

Trust Co. of Vermont cut its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,616 shares of the company’s stock after selling 165 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $4,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Penske Automotive Group by 9.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,367 shares of the company’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 10,253 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,563,000 after acquiring an additional 1,777 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 15.8% in the first quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,006 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 1,639 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 33.4% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 999 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the first quarter worth about $648,000. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Penske Automotive Group

In related news, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 1,604 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.74, for a total value of $289,906.96. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,529 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $276,351.46. This represents a 51.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total value of $200,805.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,211.10. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 52.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PAG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Penske Automotive Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Wednesday, June 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Penske Automotive Group from $200.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.33.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of Penske Automotive Group stock opened at $173.71 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $178.78 and a 200 day moving average of $167.60. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.05 and a 12 month high of $189.51. The firm has a market cap of $11.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.09 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.56 by $0.22. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.98 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.61 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th were paid a $1.32 dividend. This represents a $5.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 15th. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is currently 36.74%.

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.