Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 247,510 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,958 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $25,568,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,164,953 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $636,840,000 after purchasing an additional 241,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,852,980 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $499,954,000 after buying an additional 120,185 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,440,215 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $355,374,000 after acquiring an additional 62,452 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Best Buy by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,055,743 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $257,569,000 after acquiring an additional 235,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,388,151 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $143,396,000 after acquiring an additional 44,693 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBY has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on Best Buy in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “hold” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $101.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total transaction of $6,049,258.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,052,442.20. This trade represents a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of BBY stock opened at $86.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $90.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00. The stock has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a PE ratio of 14.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.44. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.29 and a 1 year high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.63 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. Best Buy’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.27%.

Best Buy 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.