Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Boosts Stock Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 66.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,680 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,868 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BBY. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,745 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after acquiring an additional 3,025 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 27.4% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 90,341 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $9,332,000 after acquiring an additional 19,405 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 154,564 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $15,806,000 after acquiring an additional 18,171 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $2,265,000 after acquiring an additional 8,640 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at about $453,000. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on BBY shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on Best Buy from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on Best Buy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.72.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In related news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 92,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,052,442.20. This trade represents a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Best Buy Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BBY opened at $91.02 on Wednesday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.29 and a 52-week high of $103.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $85.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.17.

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

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.27%.

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.