Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 18,074 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. trimmed its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 11.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 142,342 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 18,074 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $9,527,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its position in Best Buy by 99.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,997,871 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $525,120,000 after purchasing an additional 3,496,254 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its position in Best Buy by 293.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,052,805 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $70,464,000 after purchasing an additional 785,294 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Best Buy by 14,865.2% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 771,159 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $51,614,000 after purchasing an additional 766,006 shares in the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in Best Buy in the 3rd quarter worth about $55,475,000. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Best Buy by 2,683.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 692,687 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $52,381,000 after purchasing an additional 667,801 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Best Buy Stock Up 0.1%

BBY stock opened at $61.06 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $61.76 and a 200-day moving average of $67.32. The company has a market capitalization of $12.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.11, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.22. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.10 and a fifty-two week high of $84.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.11.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The technology retailer reported $2.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $13.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.96 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 49.17%. Best Buy’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 24th were issued a $0.96 dividend. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 24th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.3%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is 76.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Best Buy news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 42,869 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $2,744,473.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 523,138 shares in the company, valued at $33,491,294.76. This trade represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jason J. Bonfig sold 6,336 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $405,630.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 79,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,066,350.74. This represents a 7.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 77,247 shares of company stock worth $4,945,353 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on BBY shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $70.00 to $60.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Best Buy from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $99.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upped their price objective on Best Buy from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $70.80.

About Best Buy

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.