Gabelli Funds LLC Lowers Stake in Sony Corporation $SONY

Gabelli Funds LLC lessened its position in shares of Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 5,319,090 shares of the company’s stock after selling 347,945 shares during the quarter. Sony comprises approximately 0.9% of Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Gabelli Funds LLC’s holdings in Sony were worth $136,169,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SONY. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Sony by 422.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,908 shares of the company’s stock valued at $421,000 after acquiring an additional 16,094 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 37,677 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 4,172 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 3,255 shares during the period. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Sony in the second quarter worth about $26,058,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 14.05% of the company’s stock.

Sony Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SONY opened at $22.32 on Monday. Sony Corporation has a 1-year low of $19.63 and a 1-year high of $30.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $20.95 and a 200-day moving average of $23.88. 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 company has a market capitalization of $132.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -111.57, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.92.

Sony (NYSE:SONY) last released its quarterly 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). Sony had a positive return on equity of 12.20% and a negative net margin of 2.61%.The business had revenue of $19.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $32.86 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Sony Corporation will post 1.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sony Announces Dividend

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

Trending Headlines about Sony

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sony unveiled the Xperia 1 VIII with larger camera sensors and a redesigned body, giving its premium phone lineup a fresh hardware refresh that could help stabilize mobile sales. Sony’s Xperia 1 VIII has bigger camera sensors and a new look
• Positive Sentiment: Sony also introduced the a7R VI and a new FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS lens, which could reinforce the company’s strong position in high-end imaging and camera accessories. Sony’s a7R VI comes speeding out of the studio
• Positive Sentiment: Sony executive Sanford Panitch said streaming has not created true global intellectual property, a reminder that Sony still sees value in traditional film and franchise monetization beyond streaming alone. Sony’s Sanford Panitch says streaming has never created true global IP
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reviews praised the Xperia 1 VIII’s camera ambitions but also flagged confusing AI processing and at least one major camera tradeoff, making the reception more uncertain than clearly positive. Sony sure seems to be sabotaging the Xperia 1 VIII with its new camera assistant
• Negative Sentiment: Other coverage said Sony’s Xperia 1 VIII still has lingering problems and that AI-touched camera samples were disappointing, which could weigh on consumer sentiment around the flagship phone launch. Sony shows off AI-touched Xperia 1 VIII camera samples. It’s an epic self-own that I can’t digest
• Negative Sentiment: Critics also said the new Xperia flagship makes a major camera tradeoff and that Sony is still ignoring key handset issues, which could limit the phone’s ability to drive a stronger turnaround in mobile. Sony’s new Xperia flagship phone makes a major camera tradeoff

Analysts Set New Price Targets

SONY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sony from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Sony in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $22.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Sony in a research report on Tuesday, March 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sony presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.00.

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.