Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 15,778 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its Sonic Automotive stake by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, selling 15,778 shares and ending with about 1.63 million shares valued at roughly $100.9 million.
• Analysts remain mixed on SAH: recent price targets were raised by several firms, but the stock’s consensus rating is still “Hold” with an average target of $82.13.
• Sonic Automotive posted solid quarterly results and raised its dividend, reporting EPS of $1.62 versus the $1.40 estimate and increasing its quarterly payout to $0.41 per share from $0.38.

Vanguard Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,630,672 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,778 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 4.77% of Sonic Automotive worth $100,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SAH. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 37.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 13,946 shares of the company's stock valued at $795,000 after acquiring an additional 3,777 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 13.6% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 23,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 2,793 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 5.8% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,853 shares of the company's stock valued at $504,000 after acquiring an additional 483 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 124.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 355,328 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,239,000 after acquiring an additional 197,336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 15.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 38,698 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,204,000 after acquiring an additional 5,286 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SAH shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $82.13.

Insider Transactions at Sonic Automotive

In other Sonic Automotive news, major shareholder Paul P. Rusnak bought 11,481 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.95 per share, for a total transaction of $688,285.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 5,100,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $305,745,000. This represents a 0.23% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 43.68% of the company's stock.

Sonic Automotive Trading Down 3.0%

Sonic Automotive stock opened at $76.19 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.56. The company has a market cap of $2.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.67 and a beta of 0.89. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.11 and a 52-week high of $89.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.40 by $0.22. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 0.72% and a return on equity of 22.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th will be given a dividend of $0.41 per share. This represents a $1.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive's previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 15th. Sonic Automotive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.41%.

About Sonic Automotive

Sonic Automotive, Inc is a publicly traded automotive retailer that operates a network of franchised new-car dealerships and used-vehicle dealerships across the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company offers a range of services that include vehicle sales, leasing, finance and insurance products, service and parts, and collision repair. Sonic Automotive's dealerships represent numerous major automotive brands, and the company also markets a broad selection of pre-owned vehicles under its own banner.

In addition to its core dealership operations, Sonic Automotive has developed digital retail capabilities that allow customers to research, shop and complete transactions online.

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