Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC Purchases 1,486 Shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG)

Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 182,966 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,486 shares during the quarter. Penske Automotive Group comprises 0.3% of Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Horizon Kinetics Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Penske Automotive Group worth $27,891,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vestcor Inc boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 134.2% in the fourth quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 9,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,423,000 after acquiring an additional 5,351 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 39,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,006,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 43.5% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,198 shares of the company’s stock worth $945,000 after acquiring an additional 1,880 shares in the last quarter. Moran Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Penske Automotive Group in the fourth quarter worth $14,157,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 4,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Penske Automotive Group

In other news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total value of $1,513,320.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 28,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,003,508.51. This represents a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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. Corporate insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PAG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Penske Automotive Group from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Penske Automotive Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Benchmark initiated coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $172.50.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PAG opened at $148.24 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $163.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $160.32. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $142.32 and a 52-week high of $180.12. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $9.89 billion, a PE ratio of 10.78 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

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

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.