California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 68.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 361,200 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 779,246 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $23,189,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,255,320 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,623,409,000 after buying an additional 307,905 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Best Buy by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,158,839 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $613,001,000 after buying an additional 2,160,968 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Best Buy by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,452,642 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $498,805,000 after buying an additional 160,713 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Best Buy by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,732,080 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $316,718,000 after acquiring an additional 271,988 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,778,294 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $252,881,000 after acquiring an additional 605,911 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 1,784 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction of $131,659.20. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 224,705 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total value of $17,549,460.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 10,430,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,656,101.60. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,002,134 shares of company stock worth $77,283,527. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $87.07 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $74.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.97. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.10 and a 52 week high of $87.35. The company has a market capitalization of $18.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The technology retailer reported $1.28 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 18th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is presently 71.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital downgraded shares of Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up from $85.00) on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Evercore boosted their price target on Best Buy from $65.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Best Buy from $60.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.