Sony Corporation $SONY Shares Acquired by Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its Sony stake by 69.1% in the fourth quarter, adding 60,075 shares and bringing its total holdings to 147,005 shares worth about $3.76 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased or initiated positions in Sony, and overall 14.05% of the stock is held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Sony reported mixed quarterly results, with revenue rising 8.3% year over year to $19.15 billion but EPS missing estimates at $0.09 versus $0.22 expected; analysts currently rate the stock as a Hold on average with a $22 price target.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY - Free Report) by 69.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,005 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 60,075 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.'s holdings in Sony were worth $3,763,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in SONY. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new position in shares of Sony during the third quarter worth $277,631,000. Capital International Investors increased its position 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 worth $176,044,000 after purchasing an additional 4,296,028 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Sony by 7,377.3% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 3,374,274 shares of the company's stock worth $97,145,000 after purchasing an additional 3,329,147 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $3,128,924,000 after purchasing an additional 2,766,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sony during the third quarter worth $50,560,000. 14.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sony

In related news, insider Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 17,500 shares of the company'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 $395,675.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $622,973.33. This represents a 38.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenichiro Yoshida sold 400,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 7.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Sony Price Performance

NYSE SONY opened at $22.09 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a current ratio of 1.18 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $21.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.69. Sony Corporation has a 1 year low of $19.63 and a 1 year high of $30.34. The company has a market cap of $131.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -110.43, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.92.

Sony (NYSE:SONY - Get Free Report) last released 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 negative net margin of 2.61% and a positive return on equity of 12.20%. The firm had revenue of $19.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $32.86 earnings per share. Sony's revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Sony Corporation will post 1.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Sony Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on SONY shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $22.00 price target (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Four investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.00.

Trending Headlines about Sony

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sony’s WH-1000XX “The Collexion” headphones are being positively reviewed as a premium product, which supports the company’s consumer electronics brand. Sony WH-1000XX The Collexion review: Luxury epitomised
• Positive Sentiment: Sony announced a PlayStation State of Play showcase for June, which can help drive attention to upcoming games and hardware. Sony PlayStation State of Play June edition announced

Sony 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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