Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 3.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 215,105 shares of the company's stock after selling 8,652 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.64% of Sonic Automotive worth $12,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Phocas Financial Corp. increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 86.6% in the 4th quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. now owns 116,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,370,000 after buying an additional 54,008 shares during the period. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 110.9% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 69,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,420,000 after purchasing an additional 36,691 shares during the last quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 105.2% in the 4th quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 58,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,708,000 after purchasing an additional 30,002 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,129,000 after purchasing an additional 27,726 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $1,341,000. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Stephens lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Citigroup began 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, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $74.29.

Insider Activity

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 31,152 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.05, for a total transaction of $2,182,197.60. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 605,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,448,128.45. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock worth $3,502,062. 42.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Sonic Automotive Stock Down 5.4%

Shares of SAH stock traded down $4.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $75.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 113,545 shares, compared to its average volume of 223,258. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $76.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.20. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $52.00 and a one year high of $89.62. The company has a market cap of $2.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.88 and a beta of 1.04.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.56. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.69% and a return on equity of 19.42%. The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive's revenue was up 5.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be given a $0.38 dividend. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. This is an increase from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Sonic Automotive's payout ratio is 19.94%.

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.