Greg Smith Sells 1,488 Shares of Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Stock

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Director Greg Smith sold 1,488 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.02, for a total transaction of $238,109.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of Penske Automotive Group stock opened at $161.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 0.96 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $156.47 and a 200 day moving average of $160.29. The firm has a market cap of $10.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 0.90. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $140.12 and a 1 year high of $189.51.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $3.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.71 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 2.85% and a return on equity of 15.13%. Penske Automotive Group’s quarterly revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.66 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be paid a dividend of $1.42 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $5.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.40. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.79%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PAG. Stephens raised their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $193.00 to $199.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Penske Automotive Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $184.86.

Institutional Trading of Penske Automotive Group

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAG. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 14,852.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 884,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $132,237,000 after acquiring an additional 878,496 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 39,232.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 863,352 shares of the company’s stock valued at $136,660,000 after acquiring an additional 861,157 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 48.9% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,391,281 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,958,000 after acquiring an additional 456,611 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $32,137,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,293,467 shares of the company’s stock valued at $204,761,000 after acquiring an additional 156,308 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Company Profile

Penske Automotive Group, Inc (NYSE: PAG), headquartered in Bloomfield Township, Michigan, is an international transportation services company primarily focused on automotive and commercial truck dealerships. The company retails new and pre-owned vehicles across a broad spectrum of brands, while offering parts, maintenance, collision repair and reconditioning services. In addition, Penske provides financing and insurance products through its integrated finance and insurance operations, supporting both retail customers and commercial clients.

Formed in 1990 as United Auto Group and publicly traded since 1999, Penske Automotive Group has grown through organic expansion and strategic acquisitions to establish a network of dealerships and service centers across the United States and Europe.