Sony (NYSE:SONY) Director Kenichiro Yoshida Sells 400,000 Shares of Stock

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) Director Kenichiro Yoshida sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.61, for a total transaction of $9,044,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 661,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,959,115.15. This represents a 37.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Sony Price Performance

SONY opened at $22.75 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Sony Corporation has a 12 month low of $19.63 and a 12 month high of $30.34. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.80. The stock has a market cap of $135.33 billion, a P/E ratio of -113.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.92.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.13). Sony had a positive return on equity of 12.20% and a negative net margin of 2.61%.The business had revenue of $19.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $32.86 earnings per share. Sony’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Sony Corporation will post 1.31 EPS for the current year.

Sony Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.0796 per share. This represents a yield of 80.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 30th. Sony’s dividend payout ratio is presently -55.00%.

More Sony News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sony announced a new production deal involving Sony TV and Crave, adding to its content pipeline and signaling continued strength in entertainment partnerships.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Sony as a strong value stock, which may help support investor sentiment around the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Sony bought a production company behind reality-TV franchises, a move that expands its media footprint but is not likely to move the stock sharply on its own.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent product and brand coverage around Xperia phones, TVs, headphones, and gaming features points to ongoing consumer-interest activity, though these items appear more promotional than financially material.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Kenichiro Yoshida sold 400,000 shares of Sony stock, and insider Tsuyoshi Kodera also sold shares, a combination that can weigh on sentiment because it may signal limited near-term confidence from leadership. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Sony faced criticism after raising PlayStation Plus subscription prices, which could raise concerns about gamer backlash and slower subscription growth.
• Negative Sentiment: One report also said Sony is being sued over alleged tariff-related windfall profits, adding an overhang of legal and reputational risk.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sony

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Western Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Sony during the first quarter worth about $72,000. Royal Fund Management LLC bought a new position in Sony during the first quarter worth about $1,304,000. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Sony by 9.1% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 16,992,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $351,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413,785 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its holdings in Sony by 10.1% during the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 11,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 1,013 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Sony by 71.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 28,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 11,980 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 14.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on SONY shares. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $22.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Sony from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

About Sony

Sony Group Corporation (NYSE: SONY) is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Founded in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, Sony has grown from an electronics maker into a diversified global company with operations spanning consumer electronics, entertainment, gaming, semiconductors and financial services. The company’s shares trade in Japan and its American Depositary Receipts trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker SONY.

Sony’s primary businesses include Electronics Products & Solutions, which covers televisions, audio equipment, digital cameras and professional broadcast systems; Game & Network Services, anchored by the PlayStation platform, consoles, software and online services; Music and Pictures, through Sony Music Entertainment and Sony Pictures Entertainment, producing, distributing and licensing recorded music, film and television content; Imaging & Sensing Solutions, which develops CMOS image sensors and other semiconductor components; and Financial Services, offering life insurance, banking and other financial products in Japan.