Toshimoto Mitomo Sells 25,000 Shares of Sony (NYSE:SONY) Stock

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) insider Toshimoto Mitomo sold 25,000 shares of Sony stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $525,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 115,700 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,432,014. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Sony Stock Down 1.0%

SONY stock opened at $21.18 on Thursday. 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 has a market capitalization of $125.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -105.92, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.94. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $21.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.02. Sony Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $30.34.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.22 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $19.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.43 billion. Sony had a negative net margin of 2.61% and a positive return on equity of 12.20%. Sony’s quarterly revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $32.86 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sony Corporation will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Key Headlines Impacting Sony

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki sold 225,000 shares, while another insider, Toshimoto Mitomo, sold 25,000 shares. Large insider sales can weigh on sentiment because investors often view them as a lack of confidence or simple profit-taking. Hiroki Totoki Sells 225,000 Shares of Sony (NYSE:SONY) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Jermaine Dupri filed an $18 million lawsuit against Sony over alleged unpaid royalties, creating legal uncertainty for Sony Music and raising concerns about possible costs or reputational damage. Jermaine Dupri sues Sony Music for $18 million in unpaid royalties
• Negative Sentiment: Backlash continues over reports that Sony is moving away from physical PlayStation discs, which could hurt gamer goodwill and add concerns about the company’s long-term gaming strategy. Don’t Kill The Disc Petition Urging Sony To Preserve Physical Media On PS6 Breaks 120,000 Signatures
• Neutral Sentiment: Sony continues to attract attention for product news, including a leaked OLED TV and reviews of its Bravia lineup, but these stories are not likely to move the stock much on their own. Sony Bravia 9 II review

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. 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. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a report on Monday, May 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Sony has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $22.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SONY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sony during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,922,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sony by 422.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 16,094 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Sony by 28.0% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 973,178 shares of the company’s stock valued at $24,913,000 after acquiring an additional 212,971 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd boosted its stake in Sony by 338.7% during the 1st quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 295,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,116,000 after purchasing an additional 228,108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Sony by 245.0% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,049,618 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,044,000 after purchasing an additional 4,296,028 shares during the last quarter. 14.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Sony

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.