Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Has $8.21 Million Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio cut its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 1.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 100,059 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 1,001 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $8,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth about $165,164,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in Best Buy by 11,586.7% during the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 686,128 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $53,710,000 after purchasing an additional 680,257 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Best Buy by 320.4% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 860,388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $67,352,000 after purchasing an additional 655,750 shares during the period. Mairs & Power Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 9,155.1% in the fourth quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 532,167 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $41,658,000 after acquiring an additional 526,417 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 73.1% in the fourth quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,228,980 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $97,339,000 after acquiring an additional 518,920 shares during the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 691,328 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total transaction of $61,154,874.88. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 14,911,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,319,073,501.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Jason J. Bonfig sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $290,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,210,276.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 691,328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total value of $61,154,874.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,911,525 shares in the company, valued at $1,319,073,501.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,383,370 shares of company stock valued at $288,293,276. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BBY shares. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Best Buy from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 7th. UBS Group raised Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $106.00 in a research note on Monday, June 17th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on Best Buy from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Best Buy from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised Best Buy from a “sell” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $67.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $90.87.

Best Buy Price Performance

NYSE:BBY traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $85.85. The stock had a trading volume of 91,411 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,131,226. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.01. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a one year low of $62.30 and a one year high of $93.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $84.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.48.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The technology retailer reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.12. Best Buy had a return on equity of 47.56% and a net margin of 2.90%. The firm had revenue of $8.85 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 20th were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.85%.

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.