Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG) Shares Sold by Prudential Financial Inc.

Prudential Financial Inc. cut its holdings in Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:PAG - Free Report) by 38.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,812 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,570 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Penske Automotive Group were worth $1,343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Penske Automotive Group by 44.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 262 shares of the company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Penske Automotive Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $94,000. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 33.5% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 749 shares of the company's stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Penske Automotive Group by 28.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,221 shares of the company's stock worth $198,000 after acquiring an additional 269 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.08% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director John Barr sold 1,529 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.45, for a total value of $237,683.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $173.03, for a total value of $1,513,320.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 28,917 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,003,508.51. The trade was a 23.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 51.70% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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Penske Automotive Group Trading Down 4.3 %

Shares of PAG stock traded down $6.59 on Thursday, reaching $146.34. 70,398 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 237,341. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.05 and a 52 week high of $180.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.77 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $158.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.62.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The company reported $3.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. Penske Automotive Group had a return on equity of 18.05% and a net margin of 3.02%. As a group, analysts forecast that Penske Automotive Group, Inc. will post 13.86 EPS for the current year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $1.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This is a positive change 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 3.33%. Penske Automotive Group's dividend payout ratio is 35.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PAG shares. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Penske Automotive Group from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Benchmark assumed coverage on Penske Automotive Group in a report on Thursday, December 12th. They set a "buy" rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Penske Automotive Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $166.25.

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.