Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 70,000 Shares of Sony Corporation $SONY

Key Points

• Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its Sony stake by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, selling 70,000 shares and leaving it with 1,176,915 shares valued at about $30.1 million.
• Sony’s latest quarter showed mixed results: revenue beat expectations at $19.15 billion and rose 8.3% year over year, but EPS of $0.09 missed estimates by $0.13.
• Sentiment around the stock is being influenced by several factors, including insider selling by director Kenichiro Yoshida and insider Tsuyoshi Kodera, while analysts currently rate Sony a consensus Hold with a $22 average target price.

Handelsbanken Fonder AB decreased its position in shares of Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY - Free Report) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,176,915 shares of the company's stock after selling 70,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Sony were worth $30,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sony by 2.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 104,644,526 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,128,924,000 after acquiring an additional 2,766,460 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in shares of Sony during the third quarter valued at approximately $277,631,000. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Sony by 245.0% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,049,618 shares of the company's stock valued at $176,044,000 after acquiring an additional 4,296,028 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its holdings in shares of Sony by 0.4% during the third quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,001,748 shares of the company's stock valued at $144,021,000 after acquiring an additional 20,960 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Sony by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,411,634 shares of the company's stock valued at $87,342,000 after acquiring an additional 37,360 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 14.05% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Sony

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sony announced a new production deal involving Sony TV and Crave, adding to its content pipeline and signaling continued strength in entertainment partnerships.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted Sony as a strong value stock, which may help support investor sentiment around the shares.
• Neutral Sentiment: Sony bought a production company behind reality-TV franchises, a move that expands its media footprint but is not likely to move the stock sharply on its own.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent product and brand coverage around Xperia phones, TVs, headphones, and gaming features points to ongoing consumer-interest activity, though these items appear more promotional than financially material.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Kenichiro Yoshida sold 400,000 shares of Sony stock, and insider Tsuyoshi Kodera also sold shares, a combination that can weigh on sentiment because it may signal limited near-term confidence from leadership. Article Title Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Sony faced criticism after raising PlayStation Plus subscription prices, which could raise concerns about gamer backlash and slower subscription growth.
• Negative Sentiment: One report also said Sony is being sued over alleged tariff-related windfall profits, adding an overhang of legal and reputational risk.

Sony Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:SONY opened at $22.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $135.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -113.73, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.92. 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 Corporation has a 12-month low of $19.63 and a 12-month high of $30.34. The business's 50 day moving average is $21.00 and its 200 day moving average is $23.80.

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). The company had revenue of $19.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.43 billion. Sony had a negative net margin of 2.61% and a positive return on equity of 12.20%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $32.86 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Sony Corporation will post 1.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sony Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Monday, March 30th will be given a dividend of $0.0796 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 80.0%. Sony's payout ratio is presently -55.00%.

Insider Activity at Sony

In related news, insider Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 17,500 shares of Sony stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.61, for a total transaction of $395,675.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $622,973.33. The trade was a 38.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Kenichiro Yoshida sold 400,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.61, for a total value of $9,044,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 661,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,959,115.15. This represents a 37.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 7.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on SONY shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sony from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating on shares of Sony in a report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $22.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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.

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