Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY Shares Bought by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems increased its Best Buy stake by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, while other institutional investors also added to positions; institutions and hedge funds now own about 80.96% of the stock.
• Best Buy shares were down about 3%, trading near $55.49, close to their 52-week low, after the company reported mixed quarterly results: EPS beat estimates at $2.61, but revenue came in slightly below expectations and fell 1% year over year.
• The company recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 per share, implying a 6.9% annual yield, even as analysts maintain a cautious stance with an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $71.30.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 225,000 shares of the technology retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 67,600 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al owned about 0.11% of Best Buy worth $15,059,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Best Buy by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,947,415 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $1,810,904,000 after acquiring an additional 552,360 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 100.6% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 70,280 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $4,704,000 after acquiring an additional 35,239 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Best Buy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,754,844 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $132,701,000 after acquiring an additional 39,026 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its holdings in Best Buy by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,639,202 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $123,956,000 after acquiring an additional 89,057 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its holdings in Best Buy by 60.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 112,604 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $8,515,000 after acquiring an additional 42,465 shares during the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Best Buy Stock Down 3.0%

Shares of NYSE BBY opened at $55.49 on Thursday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.10 and a 52-week high of $84.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $62.63 and a 200-day moving average of $68.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.69 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The technology retailer reported $2.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.13. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 49.17%. The company had revenue of $13.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.58 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th were paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 24th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.9%. This is a boost from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio is presently 76.19%.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $211,137.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 23,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,484,751.84. The trade was a 12.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 42,869 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $2,744,473.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,491,294.76. This represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 77,247 shares of company stock worth $4,945,353. 0.47% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on BBY shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Best Buy from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Best Buy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their price target on Best Buy from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Piper Sandler reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Best Buy from $94.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 9th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $71.30.

Best Buy Company Profile

Best Buy Co, Inc is a leading North American consumer electronics retailer that sells a broad range of products including computers, mobile phones, televisions and home theater systems, major appliances, smart-home devices, gaming hardware and software, wearables and related accessories. The company operates through a mix of large-format stores, smaller specialty locations and an e-commerce platform, offering national and private-brand merchandise from major consumer-technology manufacturers as well as third-party sellers.

Beyond product retailing, Best Buy provides a suite of services aimed at installation, repair and ongoing technical support.

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