Bank of America Corp DE Reduces Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 12.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,291 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,888 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.41% of Sonic Automotive worth $8,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 124.9% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company's stock worth $20,239,000 after acquiring an additional 197,336 shares during the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Sonic Automotive during the first quarter valued at about $8,450,000. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $7,384,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the third quarter worth about $7,450,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 70.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 181,189 shares of the company's stock worth $11,208,000 after purchasing an additional 75,125 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE SAH opened at $75.41 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $87.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.25. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.11 and a 1 year high of $113.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.38 billion, a PE ratio of 12.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.86.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.07. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.37% and a return on equity of 20.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.78 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.19 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 15th will be issued a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 15th. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total transaction of $2,992,415.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 543,668 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $46,331,386.96. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160. Company insiders own 43.68% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on Sonic Automotive from $90.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Seaport Research Partners lowered Sonic Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $205.00 in a report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens set a $89.00 price objective on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Sonic Automotive from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $72.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, August 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $97.33.

Sonic Automotive Company Profile

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a publicly traded automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised new-car dealerships and used-vehicle dealerships across the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company offers a range of services that include vehicle sales, leasing, finance and insurance products, service and parts, and collision repair. Sonic Automotive's dealerships represent numerous major automotive brands, and the company also markets a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles under its own banner.

In addition to its core dealership operations, Sonic Automotive has developed digital retail capabilities that allow customers to research, shop and complete transactions online.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SAH? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source