Insider Selling: Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) EVP Sells 8,746 Shares of Stock

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 28,917 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,003,508.51. The trade was a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Shares of PAG stock traded down $1.07 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $170.44. 24,419 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 181,412. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $142.32 and a 12 month high of $180.12. The company has a market cap of $11.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.40 and a beta of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $160.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a current ratio of 0.91.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $1.22 dividend. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. This represents a $4.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 24th. Penske Automotive Group’s payout ratio is presently 35.49%.

Institutional Trading of Penske Automotive Group

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAG. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 25.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $142,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 12,674.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 59,146 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,606,000 after acquiring an additional 58,683 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 188.2% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 4,559 shares during the period. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 103.3% during the third quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $529,000 after acquiring an additional 1,747 shares during the period. 77.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PAG shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Tuesday. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $171.25.

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.