Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Boosts Stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 221,616 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after buying an additional 18,976 shares during the period. Best Buy accounts for approximately 0.7% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Best Buy worth $19,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at $3,293,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its position in Best Buy by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 26,400 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 8,640 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Best Buy by 424.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 26,200 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after purchasing an additional 21,200 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth about $453,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 401,098 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $34,414,000 after buying an additional 84,505 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $102.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital restated a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Best Buy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.50.

Best Buy Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $75.68 on Tuesday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.29 and a 1 year high of $103.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $83.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.84. The company has a market capitalization of $16.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The business had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $72.92 per share, with a total value of $984,420.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at $27,620,637.60. The trade was a 3.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $226,844.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,370,051.22. This represents a 14.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Best Buy Company Profile

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.