Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Reduces Stock Holdings in Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its position in shares of Sonic Automotive, Inc. (NYSE:SAH) by 6.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,279 shares of the company’s stock after selling 639 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Sonic Automotive were worth $588,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sonic Automotive by 515.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 480 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. grew its stake in Sonic Automotive by 100.3% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,000 after purchasing an additional 599 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Sonic Automotive in the fourth quarter worth about $72,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive during the fourth quarter valued at about $185,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sonic Automotive in the 4th quarter valued at about $244,000. Institutional investors own 46.92% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on SAH shares. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Sonic Automotive from $83.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Sonic Automotive from $80.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. StockNews.com lowered Sonic Automotive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on Sonic Automotive from $100.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $74.80.

Sonic Automotive Stock Up 1.6 %

Sonic Automotive stock opened at $57.87 on Wednesday. Sonic Automotive, Inc. has a 52 week low of $47.82 and a 52 week high of $76.78. The firm has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36 and a beta of 1.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $67.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.75.

Sonic Automotive (NYSE:SAH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.05. Sonic Automotive had a net margin of 1.52% and a return on equity of 19.96%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sonic Automotive, Inc. will post 6.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Sonic Automotive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Sonic Automotive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.65%.

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.