Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,892 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 378,319 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,892 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $21,265,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $415,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 39.5% during the 4th quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 24,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 7,075 shares in the last quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Sonic Automotive by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $176,000 after acquiring an additional 447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp acquired a new position in Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. 46.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 67,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total transaction of $3,955,886.29. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 583,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $34,067,845.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 113,355 shares of company stock valued at $6,670,004 in the last ninety days. 40.95% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Sonic Automotive stock opened at $56.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $1.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.60 and a beta of 1.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $54.92 and its 200 day moving average is $53.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.35. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $40.63 and a one year high of $64.68.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.06. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The company had revenue of $3.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.33 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.86 EPS for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SAH has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America raised Sonic Automotive from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, April 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $48.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. TheStreet upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $56.60.

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.