GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 6,802.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,734 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 11,564 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $668,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of SAH. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Sonic Automotive by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,557,344 shares of the company's stock worth $98,658,000 after purchasing an additional 20,058 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 476,107 shares of the company's stock worth $30,161,000 after buying an additional 17,965 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 291,133 shares of the company's stock worth $18,443,000 after acquiring an additional 18,232 shares in the last quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 132,106 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,369,000 after purchasing an additional 14,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 128,835 shares of the company's stock worth $8,162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $40,331.52. Following the completion of the sale, the president now directly owns 605,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,389,617.86. This trade represents a 0.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 50,000 shares of company stock worth $3,502,062 over the last three months. 42.65% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAH has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC dropped 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. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 0.9%

SAH stock traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $77.51. The company had a trading volume of 135,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 194,612. The stock has a market cap of $2.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.04, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.02. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $66.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $66.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.09, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $51.27 and a 52 week high of $78.11.

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

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Sonic Automotive's payout ratio is 19.94%.

Sonic Automotive Profile

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.