Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $958,000 Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. cut its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,820 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,048 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in SAH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 515.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 402 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1,429.7% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $185,000. Finally, Mariner LLC bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $225,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on Sonic Automotive from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $64.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.71.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of SAH traded up $0.84 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $78.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 429,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 194,849. The company has a market cap of $2.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $67.38 and a 200 day moving average of $66.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.27 and a 1 year high of $78.93.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 1.69%. The firm had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive's quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 19.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 1,838 shares of Sonic Automotive stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $128,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 637,121 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,598,470. This trade represents a 0.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,000 shares of company stock worth $3,502,062. 42.65% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc operates as an automotive retailer in the United States. It operates in three segments, Franchised Dealerships, EchoPark, and Powersports. The Franchised Dealerships segment is involved in the sale of new and used cars and light trucks, and replacement parts; provision of vehicle maintenance, manufacturer warranty repair, and paint and collision repair services; and arrangement of extended warranties, service contracts, financing, insurance, and other aftermarket products for its guests.