Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 5,478 Shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. $SAH

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,597 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,478 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $5,938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Sonic Automotive news, President Jeff Dyke sold 35,114 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.22, for a total transaction of $2,992,415.08. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 543,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $46,331,386.96. The trade was a 6.07% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 100,000 shares of company stock worth $8,408,160. Insiders own 43.68% of the company’s stock.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 2.9%

Shares of SAH opened at $102.71 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $86.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.71, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.89. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.11 and a 52 week high of $104.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 1.03.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.40 by $0.22. Sonic Automotive had a return on equity of 22.45% and a net margin of 0.72%.The company had revenue of $3.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.73 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 15th were given a $0.41 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 15th. This is a positive change from Sonic Automotive’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio is 52.23%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup raised their target price on Sonic Automotive from $82.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Stephens set a $89.00 price target on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $77.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Sonic Automotive from $91.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $72.00 target price on shares of Sonic Automotive in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $90.67.

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.