Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Sells 2,967 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd trimmed its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,446 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,967 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $1,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealthspire Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 3.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,946 shares of the company’s stock valued at $316,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Blue Chip Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 10,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,617,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 44.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.5% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,704,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on PAG. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Benchmark began coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.50.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of PAG opened at $167.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $11.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.18 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.32 and a 12 month high of $180.12. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $161.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $160.58.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.37 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.56 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. Equities analysts predict 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 will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.91%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total transaction of $1,513,320.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,003,508.51. This trade represents a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Company 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.