Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Acquires 1,829 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,579 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,829 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.22% of Penske Automotive Group worth $22,192,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 263,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,179,000 after purchasing an additional 51,720 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,765,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 62.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 29,199 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,743,000 after purchasing an additional 11,267 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 296.3% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 14,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,422,000 after purchasing an additional 11,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter valued at about $1,805,000. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Penske Automotive Group news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total transaction of $1,513,320.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,003,508.51. The trade was a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total value of $237,683.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $172.50.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

NYSE:PAG opened at $148.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.04. The company has a market cap of $9.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.80 and a beta of 1.24. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.32 and a 52-week high of $180.12.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.02%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is 35.49%.

Penske Automotive Group Profile

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.