Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Lowers Position in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC cut its holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 35.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 11,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,065 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $1,681,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 36.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 39,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,426,000 after acquiring an additional 10,663 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 176.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 13,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,166,000 after acquiring an additional 8,504 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 9.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 126,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,818,000 after acquiring an additional 10,522 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 188.2% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 4,559 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the third quarter worth about $415,000. 77.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

PAG stock opened at $168.57 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $11.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.92 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $160.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.69. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a one year low of $142.32 and a one year high of $179.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.41 by ($0.02). Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 18.38%. The firm had revenue of $7.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.90 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Benchmark began coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $170.25.

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.