Invesco Ltd. Sells 35,733 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• Invesco Ltd. reduced its stake in Sonic Automotive by 6.0%, selling 35,733 shares and holding 564,626 shares worth approximately $32.16 million as of the last reporting.
• Sonic Automotive announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.35 to $0.38 per share, scheduled for payment on October 15th.
• The company's latest earnings report showed a performance beat, with EPS of $2.19 surpassing expectations of $1.63, alongside a revenue increase of 5.9% year-over-year.

Invesco Ltd. reduced its position in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 564,626 shares of the company's stock after selling 35,733 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned about 1.66% of Sonic Automotive worth $32,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 9,104 shares of the company's stock valued at $577,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,349 shares of the company's stock worth $910,000 after acquiring an additional 973 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1.1% in the 4th 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 during the period. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 0.5%

SAH traded up $0.4010 on Monday, hitting $82.6110. 185,928 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 240,479. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 12 month low of $52.00 and a 12 month high of $89.62. The company has a market cap of $2.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock's fifty day moving average is $79.57 and its 200-day moving average is $70.34.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 24th. The company reported $2.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.63 by $0.56. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 21.40% and a net margin of 1.07%.The business had revenue of $3.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.47 earnings per share. Sonic Automotive's revenue was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 15th. This is a boost from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. This represents a $1.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.11%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on SAH. Bank of America raised their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Sonic Automotive from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Benchmark raised their target price on Sonic Automotive from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Sonic Automotive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Stephens downgraded Sonic Automotive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $79.86.

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the company'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 sale, the president owned 605,393 shares in the company, valued at $42,389,617.86. This represents a 0.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 42.65% of the company's stock.

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.