Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) Price Target Raised to $165.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $160.00 to $165.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research report on Tuesday. Benchmark began coverage on shares of Penske Automotive Group in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Penske Automotive Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.50.

Penske Automotive Group Stock Down 1.0 %

PAG opened at $169.75 on Wednesday. Penske Automotive Group has a twelve month low of $142.32 and a twelve month high of $180.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.20, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $160.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $160.45. The company has a market cap of $11.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35 and a beta of 1.20.

Penske Automotive Group (NYSE:PAG) last released its quarterly 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. Penske Automotive Group had a net margin of 3.02% and a return on equity of 18.05%. The firm had revenue of $7.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.56 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Penske Automotive Group will post 13.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Penske Automotive Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.22 per share. This represents a $4.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This is a boost from Penske Automotive Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.19. Penske Automotive Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Claude H. Denker III sold 8,746 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $5,003,508.51. This represents a 23.22 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 51.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Penske Automotive Group

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. now owns 806,860 shares of the company’s stock valued at $122,998,000 after buying an additional 13,106 shares during the period. CSS LLC IL grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 42.9% in the 4th quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 2,650 shares of the company’s stock valued at $404,000 after buying an additional 796 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 65,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,028,000 after buying an additional 8,438 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 134,023 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,430,000 after buying an additional 5,669 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC grew its stake in shares of Penske Automotive Group by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 19,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,994,000 after buying an additional 873 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.08% of the company’s stock.

Penske Automotive Group Company Profile

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.