Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) CFO Michelle Hulgrave Sells 1,100 Shares

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 the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $182.55, for a total value of $200,805.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 18,922 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,454,211.10. This represents a 5.49% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Penske Automotive Group Price Performance

Penske Automotive Group stock traded up $6.1150 on Friday, reaching $187.1050. The company's stock had a trading volume of 237,765 shares, compared to its average volume of 240,553. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.21 and a current ratio of 0.90. The company has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.87. The business's fifty day moving average price is $175.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $164.81. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.05 and a twelve month high of $188.43.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 17.43% and a net margin of 3.13%.The business had revenue of $7.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.98 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, May 14th that permits the company to buyback $250.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $1.32 per share. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 2.8%. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio is 36.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Penske Automotive Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,004,832 shares of the company's stock worth $288,656,000 after purchasing an additional 5,641 shares during the period. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 3.1% during the second quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 890,356 shares of the company's stock valued at $152,972,000 after buying an additional 26,827 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 21.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 681,741 shares of the company's stock valued at $116,953,000 after buying an additional 118,976 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 28.4% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 380,267 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,751,000 after buying an additional 84,045 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 3.4% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 223,630 shares of the company's stock worth $32,198,000 after purchasing an additional 7,276 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company's stock.

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.