Vise Technologies Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Sony Corporation $SONY

Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its position in Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 175,557 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,237 shares during the period. Vise Technologies Inc.’s holdings in Sony were worth $4,494,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SONY. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sony by 422.0% in the fourth 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. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sony by 26.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 178,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,542,000 after acquiring an additional 37,677 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sony by 23.4% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 22,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 4,172 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Sony by 24.6% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 16,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 3,255 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in Sony during the second quarter worth $26,058,000. 14.05% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sony Price Performance

SONY opened at $21.91 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $21.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $23.26. Sony Corporation has a 12-month low of $19.63 and a 12-month high of $30.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The firm has a market cap of $130.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -109.52, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.93.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last posted 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 positive return on equity of 12.20% and a negative net margin of 2.61%.The firm had revenue of $19.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.43 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $32.86 EPS. Sony’s revenue was up 8.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.0796 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 30th. This represents a yield of 80.0%. Sony’s dividend payout ratio is presently -55.00%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 17,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.61, for a total transaction of $395,675.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,553 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kenichiro Yoshida sold 400,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.61, for a total value of $9,044,000.00. Following the sale, the director owned 661,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,959,115.15. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 7.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SONY shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sony in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $22.00 price objective (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $22.00.

Sony Company 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.