Sony (NYSE:SONY) Insider Tsuyoshi Kodera Sells 51,000 Shares of Stock

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) insider Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 51,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.54, for a total value of $1,047,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,938.62. The trade was a 64.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Tsuyoshi Kodera also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, May 18th, Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 17,500 shares of Sony stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.61, for a total value of $395,675.00.

Sony Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SONY opened at $20.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The company has a market capitalization of $120.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -101.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.93. Sony Corporation has a twelve month low of $19.63 and a twelve month high of $30.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $22.71.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $19.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.43 billion. Sony had a positive return on equity of 12.20% and a negative net margin of 2.61%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $32.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Sony Corporation will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sony

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sony by 422.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 16,094 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sony by 26.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 178,889 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,542,000 after buying an additional 37,677 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Sony by 23.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 22,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after buying an additional 4,172 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in Sony by 24.6% in the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 3,255 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Sony during the second quarter valued at about $26,058,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 14.05% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Sony

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sony’s imaging business drew attention after it announced the LYTIA L910, its first mobile camera sensor using LOFIC architecture, which could strengthen its position in premium smartphone cameras. Sony’s latest camera sensor could let your next phone take the ultimate sunset photos
• Positive Sentiment: Sony Pictures also has upcoming content momentum, including a partnership tied to the global theatrical release of Greta Gerwig’s Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew and a SCREENX version of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, both of which support its entertainment pipeline. Sony partners with Netflix for the global theatrical release of Greta Gerwig’s ‘Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew’
• Positive Sentiment: Several reports highlighted Sony’s PlayStation and gaming innovation, including a new controller patent and commentary that Sony’s gaming strategy remains stronger than Xbox’s, which may reinforce confidence in the gaming segment. Xbox’s Recent Moves Demonstrate A ‘Basic Misunderstanding’ Of The Industry, Former Sony Gaming Boss Says
• Neutral Sentiment: Sony also received visibility for consumer electronics and channel-partner awards, plus favorable product reviews for its Bravia 3 II TV and headphone promotions, but these headlines are unlikely to move the stock on their own. Sony Electronics’ Professional Display Solutions Announces Winners of Annual Sony AV Partner Awards
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling weighed on sentiment after Sony insider Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 51,000 shares at an average price of $20.54, reducing his position by about 65%; investors often view this as a cautious signal even if it does not indicate a business problem. SEC filing for insider sale

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.00.

Sony Company Profile

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.