Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) EVP Claude H. Denker III Sells 8,746 Shares

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Down 0.9 %

PAG stock opened at $168.12 on Friday. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.32 and a 12 month high of $180.12. The firm has a market cap of $11.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23 and a beta of 1.20. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $161.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.20.

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

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a $1.22 dividend. This is an increase 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 2.90%. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Penske Automotive Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealthspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 10,606 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 44.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 262 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 16,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,704,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PAG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.50.

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.