Sony Corporation $SONY Shares Purchased by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon increased its Sony stake by 10.9% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 727,569 shares valued at approximately $15.1 million. Institutional investors currently own 14.05% of Sony.
• Sony insiders have been selling shares, with insiders disposing of 771,838 shares worth $16.9 million over the past 90 days. Analysts maintain a mixed outlook, resulting in an average “Hold” rating and a $22 price target.
• Sony’s latest quarter showed revenue growth of 8.3% year over year and exceeded revenue expectations, but EPS missed estimates. The company also faces risks from higher memory-chip costs, a temporary image-sensor plant disruption and potential consumer backlash over reduced physical PlayStation offerings.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Sony Corporation (NYSE:SONY - Free Report) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 727,569 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 71,723 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp's holdings in Sony were worth $15,061,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sony by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 108,981,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,789,929,000 after purchasing an additional 4,337,062 shares during the last quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Sony during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,989,000. UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Sony by 165.4% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 2,742,402 shares of the company's stock worth $70,205,000 after buying an additional 1,709,003 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Sony by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 7,446,889 shares of the company's stock worth $191,534,000 after purchasing an additional 1,397,271 shares during the period. Finally, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Sony in the first quarter valued at $23,933,000. 14.05% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Tsuyoshi Kodera sold 51,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.54, for a total value of $1,047,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,553 shares of the company's stock, valued at $565,938.62. This represents a 64.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Toshimoto Mitomo sold 25,000 shares of Sony stock in a transaction on Friday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.02, for a total value of $525,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 115,700 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,432,014. The trade was a 17.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 771,838 shares of company stock valued at $16,866,580 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 7.00% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Sony

Here are the key news stories impacting Sony this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Sony has proposed acquiring Japanese camera-lens maker Tamron, which could strengthen its imaging ecosystem, expand lens capabilities and create distribution or technology synergies. Tamron has formed a special committee to evaluate the proposal, though the transaction remains subject to review and other conditions. Sony makes acquisition proposal for Japan camera lens maker Tamron
• Positive Sentiment: PlayStation is positioned to benefit from the expected launch of Grand Theft Auto VI, which could drive console sales, software revenue and engagement. Sony is also receiving optimistic box-office expectations for the next Spider-Man film, supporting prospects for its Pictures and licensing businesses. Sony poised for GTA VI boost as memory prices bite
• Neutral Sentiment: Tom Holland said Sony’s Spider-Man franchise considered crossover and story ideas that ultimately were not used. The reports reinforce the franchise’s creative flexibility and commercial importance, but do not represent a new product announcement or direct financial catalyst. Tom Holland Confirms Sony’s Wildest Spider-Man Crossover Plan Almost Happened
• Negative Sentiment: A Japanese earthquake temporarily halted operations at Sony’s Kumamoto Technology Center, a key image-sensor facility. The disruption could pressure sensor shipments and near-term imaging revenue, although the financial impact and restart timeline remain unclear. Sony makes 4 million image sensors a day at this plant in Japan. An earthquake has halted production
• Negative Sentiment: Higher memory-chip prices are expected to raise costs for Sony’s PlayStation hardware and could limit the benefit from anticipated game demand. The company’s latest quarterly earnings also missed the consensus EPS estimate despite revenue exceeding forecasts, adding to investor caution.
• Negative Sentiment: Reports of fan backlash over a possible shift away from physical PlayStation discs signal potential consumer resistance and could create reputational or transition risks if Sony changes its distribution strategy. Sony’s Plan to Kill Physical Discs Ignites the PSBlackout Campaign by Fans

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on SONY shares. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Sony in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Sony in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $22.00.

Sony Stock Down 2.0%

SONY opened at $22.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Sony Corporation has a 1-year low of $19.32 and a 1-year high of $30.34. The business has a 50 day moving average of $21.15 and a 200-day moving average of $21.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $134.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -114.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.94.

Sony (NYSE:SONY - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $19.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.43 billion. Sony had a positive return on equity of 12.20% and a negative net margin of 2.61%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $32.86 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Sony Corporation will post 1.28 earnings per share for the current year.

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.

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