Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 8,652 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 3.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 215,105 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,652 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.64% of Sonic Automotive worth $12,252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SAH. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 1,429.7% during the fourth quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd now owns 1,545 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at about $185,000. Mariner LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter worth about $242,000. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

NYSE:SAH opened at $76.87 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 1.04. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.67, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.38. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 1 year low of $52.00 and a 1 year high of $89.62.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.36 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is 19.94%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on SAH shares. Citigroup began coverage on Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $64.00 target price on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lowered 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating and issued a $72.00 price objective (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark initiated 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, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sonic Automotive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.02, for a total value of $40,331.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the president directly owned 605,393 shares in the company, valued at $42,389,617.86. The trade was a 0.10% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,502,062 over the last 90 days. 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.