Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. grew its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 26.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 767,534 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 162,598 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $49,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 99.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,997,871 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $525,120,000 after acquiring an additional 3,496,254 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth $174,685,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Best Buy by 378.8% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 3,096,015 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $207,216,000 after purchasing an additional 2,449,342 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Best Buy by 104.1% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 2,020,539 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $135,685,000 after purchasing an additional 1,030,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its stake in Best Buy by 293.6% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,052,805 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $70,464,000 after purchasing an additional 785,294 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Best Buy Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:BBY opened at $85.26 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $55.10 and a fifty-two week high of $87.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.19. The company has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.30.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The technology retailer reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.82 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 48.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.15 earnings per share. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 18th were paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 18th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 71.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $90.00 price target on Best Buy and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 price objective (up from $85.00) on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Best Buy from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Five equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.50.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 224,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total transaction of $17,549,460.50. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 10,430,936 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $814,656,101.60. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 1,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $131,659.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,294. The trade was a 7.62% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 1,002,134 shares of company stock valued at $77,283,527 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

About Best Buy

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.