Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Position Reduced by Bank of Nova Scotia

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia has reduced its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 74.4%, now owning 46,245 shares valued at approximately $3.41 million.
• Institutional investors hold 80.96% of Best Buy's stock, with notable recent investments including Invesco Ltd., which increased its stake by 20.5%.
• Best Buy's recent quarterly earnings beat expectations, reporting $1.15 EPS and revenue of $8.77 billion, although revenue was down 0.9% year-over-year.

Bank of Nova Scotia lessened its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 74.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 46,245 shares of the technology retailer's stock after selling 134,079 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Best Buy were worth $3,405,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 3,890.0% during the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,023,677 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $75,353,000 after purchasing an additional 998,021 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 31.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,942,832 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $252,495,000 after purchasing an additional 701,287 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,692,118 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $316,784,000 after purchasing an additional 629,180 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 461.2% during the fourth quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 621,994 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $53,367,000 after purchasing an additional 511,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth $29,090,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Best Buy Stock Up 2.1%

BBY traded up $1.43 on Friday, reaching $68.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,441,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,231,870. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.21. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.99 and a 1 year high of $103.71. The business's 50 day moving average is $69.09 and its 200 day moving average is $72.91.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.77 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 46.40% and a net margin of 2.13%. Best Buy's quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.20 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 19th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 18th. Best Buy's payout ratio is presently 92.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Best Buy news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 729,201 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.95, for a total value of $53,195,212.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 196,100 shares in the company, valued at $14,305,495. The trade was a 78.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BBY has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Barclays cut their target price on Best Buy from $89.00 to $74.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. BNP Paribas raised Best Buy to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Best Buy from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $85.72.

About Best Buy

Best Buy Co, Inc engages in the retail of technology products in the United States, Canada, and international. Its stores provide computing and mobile phone products, such as desktops, notebooks, and peripherals; mobile phones comprising related mobile network carrier commissions; networking products; tablets covering e-readers; smartwatches; and consumer electronics consisting of digital imaging, health and fitness products, portable audio comprising headphones and portable speakers, and smart home products, as well as home theaters, which includes home theater accessories, soundbars, and televisions.