Jonathan Jose Platt Sells 16,512 Shares of Sony (NYSE:SONY) Stock

Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) insider Jonathan Jose Platt sold 16,512 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.08, for a total transaction of $348,072.96. Following the sale, the insider owned 83,326 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,756,512.08. This represents a 16.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Sony Trading Down 1.0%

SONY traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $21.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,897,117 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,300,646. The stock has a market cap of $125.16 billion, a PE ratio of -105.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.94. Sony Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $19.32 and a fifty-two week high of $30.34. 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 business’s 50-day moving average is $21.12 and its 200-day moving average is $22.05.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last posted its earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $19.15 billion during 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%. Sony’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $32.86 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Sony Corporation will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SONY has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated 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, May 20th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated 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 issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sony has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $22.00.

Institutional Trading of Sony

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SONY. CWA Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Sony in the fourth quarter valued at $2,922,000. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Sony by 422.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after purchasing an additional 16,094 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Sony by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 973,178 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,913,000 after buying an additional 212,971 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in shares of Sony by 338.7% during the first quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 295,454 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,116,000 after buying an additional 228,108 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake 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 buying an additional 4,296,028 shares during the period. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Sony

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Negative Sentiment: Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki sold 225,000 shares, and another insider sale by Toshimoto Mitomo adds to investor concerns about management confidence. Just Days After PlayStation Killed Physical Games, Sony President and CEO Hiroki Totoki Sold $4.7M in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Jermaine Dupri’s $18 million lawsuit against Sony Music over alleged unpaid royalties creates legal uncertainty and could pressure the company’s entertainment business if the dispute escalates. Jermaine Dupri Files $18 Million Breach of Contract Suit Against Sony Over Alleged Unpaid Royalties
• Negative Sentiment: Continued backlash over Sony’s reported decision to phase out PlayStation discs is adding to concerns about the company’s gaming strategy and consumer reaction. Analyst Has Bad News About Sony Ending PlayStation Disc Production
• Neutral Sentiment: Sony is also getting product attention around new TVs and discounted headphones, but these stories are not major stock drivers compared with the insider sales and lawsuit headlines. I spent a week with Sony’s $3,500 Bravia TV – the True RGB display is the real deal

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.