Five Japanese Stocks to Buy Following the Bank of Japan’s Policy Overhaul

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Grp, Inc.(ADR) (NYSE:SMFG)

– Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders (as of June 30): 10

– Total Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of June 30): $23.4 million

– Hedge Funds’ Holdings as Percent of Float (as of June 30): 0.1%

After a decline of more than 16.6% in the number of funds long the stock, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Grp, Inc.(ADR) (NYSE:SMFG) saw just 10 shareholders in our database on June 30, including, yet again, Renaissance Technologies, with 1.81 million shares. Others long the stock were Ben Levine, Andrew Manuel and Stefan Renold’s LMR Partners, with 59,874 shares, and Matthew Tewksbury’s Stevens Capital Management, with 37,134 shares. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Grp, Inc.(ADR) (NYSE:SMFG)’ stock has advanced by more than 18% since the beginning of July. Last month, the company said it would liquidate its Japan-focused hedge fund as clients fled following poor performance. Over the last four years, the fund’s assets’ value fell by 90%, from $100 million to $10 million.

Toyota Motor Corp (ADR) (NYSE:TM)

– Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders (as of June 30): 13

– Total Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of June 30): $253.5 million

– Hedge Funds’ Holdings as Percent of Float (as of June 30): 0.2%

Next up is Toyota Motor Corp (ADR) (NYSE:TM), in which the number of funds long the stock went up by one during the second quarter. Among those long the stock were Phill Gross And Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management, which held 1.32 million shares, valued at roughly $132 million by the end of the second quarter, and Russell Hawkins’ Hawkins Capital, with 40,937 shares. Toyota Motor Corp (ADR) (NYSE:TM)’s stock also jumped following by BoJ announcement and gained 16.5% during the third quarter, helped by a 17.8% increase in Europe Toyota car registrations, which took the company’s market share to 4.7%, up from last year’s 4.4%.

Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)

– Number of Hedge Fund Shareholders (as of June 30): 14

– Total Value of Hedge Funds’ Holdings (as of June 30): $281.7 million

– Hedge Funds’ Holdings as Percent of Float (as of June 30): 0.8%

Finally, there’s Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE), the most popular Japanese ADR among the firms that we track, even though the number of funds long the stock slid by four during the April-June period. The group of those still long the stock included Spencer M. Waxman’s Shannon River Fund Management, which started a position comprising 430,000 shares over the second quarter, and Mario Gabelli’s GAMCO Investors, which last disclosed ownership of 5.92 million shares as of the end of June. Helped by gains registered after the BoJ announcement, Sony Corp (ADR) (NYSE:SNE)’s stock appreciated by 13% since the beginning of the third quarter. Recently, HBO has announced a deal with the company to bring its streaming service and networks to Sony’s PlayStation consoles.

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no interest in any of the securities or entities mentioned above.