Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) CFO Sells $200,805.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Penske Automotive Group CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares valued at $200,805, reducing her holdings by 5.49% to a total of 18,922 shares.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share of $3.78, exceeding expectations, but its revenue declined by 0.4% year-over-year to $7.66 billion.
• Penske Automotive Group has initiated a $250 million stock buyback program and increased its quarterly dividend to $1.32, reflecting confidence in its financial health.

Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) CFO Michelle Hulgrave sold 1,100 shares of Penske Automotive Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total value of $200,805.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,922 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,454,211.10. This trade represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Performance

Shares of Penske Automotive Group stock traded up $0.2060 on Monday, reaching $187.5160. 52,303 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 239,678. The company has a quick ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.05 and a twelve month high of $188.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $175.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.75.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The company reported $3.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.56 by $0.22. The business had revenue of $7.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.98 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 3.13%.The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.61 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 14th that authorizes the company to repurchase $250.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $1.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group's previous quarterly dividend of $1.26. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 36.74%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board acquired a new position in Penske Automotive Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $6,500,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 127.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,504 shares of the company's stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 10,946 shares of the company's stock worth $1,881,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 40.1% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,828 shares of the company's stock worth $658,000 after acquiring an additional 1,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 11,810 shares of the company's stock worth $2,029,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. 77.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PAG. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Penske Automotive Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Citigroup upped their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $181.00.

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.