Sony Corporation $SONY Stock Position Raised by Boston Partners

Key Points

• Boston Partners increased its stake in Sony Corporation by 21.4% in the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 295,350 shares valued at approximately $7.48 million.
• Several large investors have significantly increased their stakes in Sony, with Aristotle Capital Management boosting its holdings by 393.7% in the fourth quarter.
• Sony's recent earnings report showed $0.30 EPS, surpassing analysts' expectations, but its revenue of $17.79 billion fell short of the projected $18.88 billion.

Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY - Free Report) by 21.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 295,350 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,980 shares during the period. Boston Partners' holdings in Sony were worth $7,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SONY. Aristotle Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Sony by 393.7% in the 4th quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 52,771,882 shares of the company's stock worth $1,116,653,000 after acquiring an additional 42,083,842 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Sony by 377.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 23,804,970 shares of the company's stock worth $503,713,000 after acquiring an additional 18,821,902 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI lifted its stake in Sony by 377.2% in the 4th quarter. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI now owns 10,320,498 shares of the company's stock worth $218,382,000 after acquiring an additional 8,157,776 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Sony by 609.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,587,683 shares of the company's stock worth $160,555,000 after acquiring an additional 6,518,412 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Sony by 416.6% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 5,796,210 shares of the company's stock worth $122,649,000 after acquiring an additional 4,674,249 shares in the last quarter. 14.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sony Stock Down 1.3%

Sony stock traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $28.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,241,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,071,374. The firm's 50 day moving average is $25.45 and its 200 day moving average is $24.82. The company has a market cap of $171.63 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Sony Corporation has a 52-week low of $17.42 and a 52-week high of $29.16.

Sony (NYSE:SONY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.06. Sony had a return on equity of 13.88% and a net margin of 9.14%. The company had revenue of $17.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.88 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $189.90 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Sony Corporation will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Sony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sony currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $28.00.

Sony Company Profile

Sony Group Corporation designs, develops, produces, and sells electronic equipment, instruments, and devices for the consumer, professional, and industrial markets in Japan, the United States, Europe, China, the Asia-Pacific, and internationally. The company distributes software titles and add-on content through digital networks; network services related to game, video, and music content; and home gaming consoles, packaged and game software, and peripheral devices.