Capital International Investors Boosts Stock Holdings in Sony Corporation $SONY

Key Points

• Capital International Investors increased its Sony stake by 23.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 1.4 million shares and bringing its holdings to 7.45 million shares valued at about $191.5 million.
• Several other institutional investors also raised or initiated positions in Sony, and hedge funds and other institutions now own about 14.05% of the stock.
• Sony’s latest earnings showed mixed results: revenue beat estimates at $19.15 billion and rose 8.3% year over year, but EPS missed expectations at $0.09 versus $0.22 expected. Analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $22.00.

Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY - Free Report) by 23.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,446,889 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,397,271 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors owned approximately 0.12% of Sony worth $191,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SONY. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Sony by 422.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,908 shares of the company's stock worth $421,000 after purchasing an additional 16,094 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Sony by 26.7% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 178,889 shares of the company's stock worth $4,542,000 after purchasing an additional 37,677 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Sony by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 22,013 shares of the company's stock worth $573,000 after purchasing an additional 4,172 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 3,255 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Sony in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,058,000. 14.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sony

In other news, Director Kenichiro Yoshida sold 400,000 shares of Sony 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 in the company, valued at $14,959,115.15. The trade was a 37.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 17,500 shares of Sony stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.61, for a total value of $395,675.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,553 shares in the company, valued at approximately $622,973.33. This represents a 38.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Sony Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of SONY opened at $22.17 on Tuesday. Sony Corporation has a 52-week low of $19.63 and a 52-week high of $30.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm's fifty day moving average is $21.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.17. The stock has a market cap of $131.87 billion, a PE ratio of -110.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.93.

Sony (NYSE:SONY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $18.43 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $32.86 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Sony Corporation will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sony Dividend Announcement

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

More Sony News

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sony’s consumer electronics and imaging brands are staying in the spotlight, including a leaked new OLED TV, discounted PlayStation DualSense controllers, and continued attention on Sony-branded camera/lens products, all of which may help reinforce the company’s hardware relevance and sales momentum. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: PlayStation-related coverage was upbeat, with a State of Play livestream drawing major viewership and analysts/news outlets highlighting Sony game franchises and upcoming PS6 possibilities, signaling strong engagement in Sony’s gaming business. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Third-party product launches and reviews continued to reference Sony sensors, headphones, and camera gear, which helps keep the Sony brand visible across premium consumer tech categories. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles were more promotional or retrospective in nature, including features on Sony’s history, headphones reviews, and camera/lens rankings, which are unlikely to materially move the stock on their own. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Music-industry litigation remains a headwind: Suno asked a court to block UMG and Sony from expanding a copyright lawsuit to more than 61,000 recordings, keeping legal risk around Sony’s music business in the headlines. Article Title

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SONY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $22.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Sony in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Sony in a report on Monday, May 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.

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