Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) EVP Sells $1,513,320.38 in Stock

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,917 shares in the company, valued at $5,003,508.51. The trade was 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 hyperlink.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PAG traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $170.44. 24,419 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 181,412. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.20. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $142.32 and a twelve month high of $180.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $160.69 and a 200 day moving average of $160.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.56 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on PAG. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PAG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,999,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $304,757,000 after acquiring an additional 12,912 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 806,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,998,000 after acquiring an additional 13,106 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 606,709 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,487,000 after acquiring an additional 20,506 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 263,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $40,179,000 after buying an additional 51,720 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 17.4% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 259,513 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,560,000 after buying an additional 38,388 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.08% 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.