LPL Financial LLC Decreases Stock Position in Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in Sony Corporation by 2.4%, now holding approximately 727,729 shares valued at about $18.48 million.
• Other institutional investors have increased stakes in Sony, with Capital Analysts LLC boosting holdings by 400% during the fourth quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have revised their ratings on Sony, with a recent downgrade from "buy" to "hold" by Wall Street Zen, leading to an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

LPL Financial LLC lowered its position in shares of Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 727,729 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,745 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in Sony were worth $18,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Sony by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,977 shares of the company's stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the period. Stonegate Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Sony by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 16,898 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Sony by 9.0% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,333 shares of the company's stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Sony by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Naviter Wealth LLC now owns 138,840 shares of the company's stock worth $3,483,000 after purchasing an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in Sony by 3.6% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 16,108 shares of the company's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 555 shares during the period. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sony Trading Up 4.5%

NYSE:SONY traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $26.04. 6,710,293 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,278,964. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $25.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $24.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 11.97 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.57. Sony Corporation has a 12-month low of $16.69 and a 12-month high of $26.94.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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