Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 13,937 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. reduced its holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 3.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 366,730 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,937 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 1.08% of Sonic Automotive worth $20,889,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 641,237 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,525,000 after buying an additional 133,044 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Sonic Automotive by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 476,107 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,161,000 after acquiring an additional 17,965 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 6.7% in the fourth 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 during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 128,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,162,000 after purchasing an additional 1,386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Sonic Automotive by 50.5% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 124,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,083,000 after purchasing an additional 41,722 shares in the last quarter. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, President Jeff Dyke sold 576 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,000 shares of company stock valued at $3,502,062. Corporate insiders own 42.65% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Performance

Shares of SAH opened at $78.0220 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34 and a beta of 0.99. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $52.00 and a 52 week high of $89.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.24 and a current ratio of 1.03.

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

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.38 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. This represents a $1.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is presently 31.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SAH. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $72.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Stephens lowered Sonic Automotive from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped 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. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sonic Automotive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $79.86.

Sonic Automotive 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.