Citigroup Inc. Cuts Stock Holdings in Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY)

Key Points

• Citigroup Inc. reduced its stake in Sony Corporation by 9.0% in the first quarter, selling 157,421 shares, leaving it with 1,586,065 shares valued at approximately $40.27 million.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded Sony from a "buy" to a "hold" rating, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $28.00.
• Sony's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $0.30, exceeding analyst expectations, while their revenue of $17.79 billion fell short of the $18.88 billion consensus estimate.

Citigroup Inc. decreased its holdings in Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY - Free Report) by 9.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,586,065 shares of the company's stock after selling 157,421 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.'s holdings in Sony were worth $40,270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in SONY. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in Sony by 116.5% during the first quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 78,065 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,982,000 after purchasing an additional 42,000 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in Sony by 47.0% during the first quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 17,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $432,000 after purchasing an additional 5,440 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Sony by 17.0% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 562,803 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,290,000 after purchasing an additional 81,673 shares in the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA raised its position in shares of Sony by 6.2% during the first quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 61,899 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,572,000 after buying an additional 3,598 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maxi Investments CY Ltd raised its position in shares of Sony by 222.6% during the first quarter. Maxi Investments CY Ltd now owns 76,812 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,950,000 after buying an additional 53,000 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.05% of the company's stock.

Sony Stock Up 3.5%

NYSE SONY traded up $0.96 during trading on Friday, reaching $28.70. 3,675,330 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,225,009. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $173.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.79 and a beta of 0.91. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $25.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $24.69. Sony Corporation has a 12-month low of $17.42 and a 12-month high of $29.16.

Sony (NYSE:SONY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $17.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.88 billion. Sony had a net margin of 9.14% and a return on equity of 13.88%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $189.90 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Sony Corporation will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

About Sony

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.