Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $16.96 Million Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Best Buy stake by 6.3% in the first quarter, buying 15,731 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 264,160 shares worth about $16.96 million.
• Insider selling picked up, including a large sale by Chairman Richard M. Schulze of 500,350 shares and a smaller sale by CAO Mathew Watson. In the last 90 days, insiders sold more than 1 million shares worth about $77.3 million.
• Best Buy beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.28 on revenue of $8.94 billion, while also paying a quarterly dividend of $0.96 per share. Analysts currently have a consensus rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $79.50.

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 6.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 264,160 shares of the technology retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 15,731 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.13% of Best Buy worth $16,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased 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 worth $4,704,000 after purchasing an additional 35,239 shares in the last quarter. PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,741,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 42.9% during the fourth quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 225,000 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $15,059,000 after purchasing an additional 67,600 shares in the last quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth about $6,295,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 478,965 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $33,180,000 after purchasing an additional 38,739 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 1,784 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction of $131,659.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 21,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,596,294. This represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 500,350 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.12, for a total value of $38,086,642.00. Following the sale, the chairman owned 10,930,586 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $832,036,206.32. The trade was a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,002,134 shares of company stock worth $77,283,527. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of BBY stock opened at $87.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.30. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $74.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a one year low of $55.10 and a one year high of $87.35.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The technology retailer reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.05. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 48.70%. The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.15 EPS. The company's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 18th were issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. Best Buy's payout ratio is presently 71.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $90.00 target price on shares of Best Buy and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Best Buy from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Daiwa Securities Group raised their price target on shares of Best Buy from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a report on Friday, May 29th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $79.50.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.