Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Sells 39,617 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. reduced its stake in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 10.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 353,366 shares of the company’s stock after selling 39,617 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 1.04% of Sonic Automotive worth $19,863,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of SAH. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Sonic Automotive by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 57,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,118 shares during the period. MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $307,000. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 705.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 67,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,204,000 after purchasing an additional 58,761 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Sonic Automotive by 1,841.9% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 301,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,401,000 after purchasing an additional 285,999 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Sonic Automotive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $328,000. 46.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 2,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $148,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 193,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,606,700. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Heath Byrd sold 2,480 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.00, for a total transaction of $148,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 193,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,606,700. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Bruton Smith sold 67,703 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $58.43, for a total transaction of $3,955,886.29. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 583,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $34,067,845.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 147,569 shares of company stock valued at $8,674,244. Insiders own 40.95% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SAH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $58.00 in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sonic Automotive from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $55.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Friday, April 26th. 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 increased their price target on shares of Sonic Automotive from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Sonic Automotive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $57.60.

Sonic Automotive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAH opened at $53.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00 and a beta of 1.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.11, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $56.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.35. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a one year low of $41.19 and a one year high of $64.68.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.45 billion. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.21% and a return on equity of 27.46%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 EPS. Research analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 5.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sonic Automotive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. Sonic Automotive’s payout ratio is currently 24.59%.

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.