Ritholtz Wealth Management Has $3.83 Million Holdings in Sony Corporation $SONY

Ritholtz Wealth Management decreased its holdings in Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) by 28.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 185,233 shares of the company’s stock after selling 73,405 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Sony were worth $3,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. YANKCOM Partnership lifted its holdings in Sony by 748.7% during the 4th quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 976 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the period. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sony by 304.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 1,010 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 760 shares during the period. Binnacle Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Sony by 81.7% in the 3rd quarter. Binnacle Investments Inc now owns 1,032 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 464 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Sony in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Sony during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Sony News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sony Pictures announced a $100 million strategic investment in Cosm, taking a minority stake in the immersive dome-theater company. The move could open a new revenue stream by extending Sony film and TV content into premium experiential venues. Reuters article on Sony Pictures invests $100 million in Cosm
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple stories highlighted strong demand for Sony-branded consumer electronics, including WH-1000XM6 headphones hitting their lowest prices during Prime Day. That kind of promotional visibility can support near-term sales and brand awareness. ZDNet article on Sony headphones deal
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Sony is returning to the U.S. dollar bond market after nearly 30 years suggest the company is actively managing its capital structure and may be looking to finance growth or opportunistic investments. Yahoo Finance article on Sony returning to U.S. bond market
• Neutral Sentiment: Rumors about a forthcoming Sony FX cinema camera and Sony’s new LYTIA 610 sensor keep the company in the product-news cycle, but these items are speculative and do not yet provide hard financial impact. Article on rumored Sony FX cinema camera
• Neutral Sentiment: Sony’s comments about GTA VI running best on PS5 and highlighting an exclusive feature reinforce the PlayStation ecosystem, though the immediate stock impact is unclear. Article on Sony and GTA VI on PS5
• Neutral Sentiment: Zacks noted Sony is among the most watched stocks, but the piece is mostly a sentiment check rather than a catalyst. Zacks article on Sony being most-watched

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on SONY shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Sony currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Kenichiro Yoshida sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.61, for a total transaction of $9,044,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 661,615 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,959,115.15. This represents a 37.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 51,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.54, for a total value of $1,047,540.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $565,938.62. The trade was a 64.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 468,500 shares of company stock worth $10,487,215 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 7.00% of the company’s stock.

Sony Stock Down 3.3%

Sony stock opened at $19.35 on Friday. Sony Corporation has a twelve month low of $19.32 and a twelve month high of $30.34. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $21.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.41. The company has a market capitalization of $114.30 billion, a P/E ratio of -96.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.93. 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 (NYSE:SONY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 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 company had revenue of $19.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $32.86 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sony Corporation will post 1.28 EPS for the current year.

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.