Mutual Advisors LLC Has $1.24 Million Position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Mutual Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,595 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,037 shares during the quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,241,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 515.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1,429.7% in the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,545 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,000 after purchasing an additional 1,444 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at $185,000. Finally, Mariner LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SAH has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Benchmark assumed coverage on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $74.71.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

SAH traded up $1.03 on Friday, hitting $87.45. 118,500 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 195,998. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $51.27 and a 12 month high of $88.03. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.46, a PEG ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.04.

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

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.94%.

Insider Activity at Sonic Automotive

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 31,152 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.05, for a total value of $2,182,197.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the president owned 605,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,448,128.45. This represents a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,502,062 over the last three months. 42.65% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Sonic Automotive Company 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.