PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Acquires 35,298 Shares of Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY)

Key Points

• PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Sony Corporation by 13.2%, now holding 303,049 shares valued at approximately $7.69 million.
• Several institutional investors significantly boosted their positions in Sony, with notable increases of 536.0% by Forum Financial Management and 435.8% by the Teachers Retirement System of Kentucky.
• Wall Street analysts have downgraded Sony's stock rating from "buy" to "hold," resulting in an average target price of $28.00.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY - Free Report) by 13.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 303,049 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,298 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s holdings in Sony were worth $7,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Sony by 536.0% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 115,250 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,439,000 after buying an additional 97,130 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in shares of Sony by 435.8% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 582,400 shares of the company's stock worth $12,323,000 after buying an additional 473,700 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners grew its position in Sony by 87.0% during the first quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 26,662 shares of the company's stock valued at $677,000 after buying an additional 12,404 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Sony by 386.6% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 917,856 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,424,000 after buying an additional 729,218 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in Sony by 18.4% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 86,779 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,203,000 after buying an additional 13,493 shares during the last quarter. 14.05% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sony Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:SONY traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $27.15. 4,946,465 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,292,736. The company's 50 day moving average price is $25.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.51. The firm has a market cap of $164.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a PEG ratio of 12.46 and a beta of 0.91. Sony Corporation has a 52 week low of $16.73 and a 52 week high of $27.29. 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 (NYSE:SONY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.06. The business 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 14.12%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $189.90 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Sony Corporation will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sony from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.