Mutual Advisors LLC Lowers Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Mutual Advisors LLC decreased its position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 12.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 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 about 0.06% of Sonic Automotive worth $1,241,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 266.1% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 14,096 shares of the company's stock worth $803,000 after purchasing an additional 10,246 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 6,802.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,734 shares of the company's stock worth $668,000 after purchasing an additional 11,564 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 80,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,129,000 after buying an additional 27,726 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,557,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $98,658,000 after purchasing an additional 20,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 18,232 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Sonic Automotive Trading Up 0.5%

SAH stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $86.76. 70,619 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 196,041. The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.14 and a 200-day moving average of $67.84. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $51.27 and a 1 year high of $88.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.95 billion, a PE ratio of 12.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.77 and a beta of 1.04.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released 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. The company had revenue of $3.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.47 billion. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 19.42% and a net margin of 1.69%. The firm's revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.36 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 19.94%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $2,182,197.60. Following the transaction, the president owned 605,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $42,448,128.45. The trade was a 4.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 50,000 shares of company stock worth $3,502,062 over the last quarter. 42.65% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SAH has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America lifted 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. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $93.00 to $74.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Sonic Automotive in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They set a "neutral" rating and a $64.00 target price for the company. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $76.00 target price on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $74.71.

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.