Private Management Group Inc. Sells 18,370 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Private Management Group Inc. reduced its stake in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 217,369 shares of the company’s stock after selling 18,370 shares during the quarter. Penske Automotive Group makes up about 1.3% of Private Management Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $34,890,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 164.3% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 292,758 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,908,000 after purchasing an additional 181,995 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 43.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 289,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,423,000 after purchasing an additional 87,590 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 28.9% in the 3rd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 162,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,131,000 after purchasing an additional 36,400 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 136,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,886,000 after purchasing an additional 44,044 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 127.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 84,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,157,000 after purchasing an additional 47,488 shares in the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PAG. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $107.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Penske Automotive Group

In other Penske Automotive Group news, Director John Barr sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.05, for a total transaction of $246,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,299.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, 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 directly owns 716 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,299.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Greg C. Smith sold 1,604 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.38, for a total value of $239,605.52. Following the transaction, the director now owns 51,001 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,618,529.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 52.20% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PAG traded up $3.15 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $152.17. 168,877 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 198,065. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $133.72 and a 1 year high of $180.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.85 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $152.99 and a 200 day moving average of $152.80.

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

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.