Insider Selling: Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) EVP Sells 3,158 Shares of Stock

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) EVP Shane M. Spradlin sold 3,158 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.10, for a total transaction of $527,701.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 36,152 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,040,999.20. This trade represents a 8.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

PAG traded down $1.57 on Friday, hitting $165.53. 312,076 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 201,474. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.05 and a 12 month high of $180.12. The business has a 50-day moving average of $159.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $159.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.91 and a quick ratio of 0.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.04 and a beta of 0.91.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.27 by $0.12. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The business had revenue of $7.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.21 earnings per share. Penske Automotive Group's revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $1.26 dividend. This is a positive change from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.22. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.04%. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.49%.

Penske Automotive Group declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 14th that allows the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the company's stock worth $417,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 3.7% during the first quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 1,750 shares of the company's stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 2.9% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,478 shares of the company's stock worth $357,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 10,606 shares of the company's stock worth $1,617,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 2.3% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 4,500 shares of the company's stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PAG. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Penske Automotive Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $167.00.

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.