Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 244,118 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 3,392 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.11% of Best Buy worth $20,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of BBY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Best Buy by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,164,953 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $636,840,000 after acquiring an additional 241,988 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Best Buy by 3.3% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,388,151 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $143,396,000 after buying an additional 44,693 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Best Buy by 5.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,160,614 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $119,892,000 after buying an additional 61,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc lifted its holdings in Best Buy by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. abrdn plc now owns 875,537 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $90,198,000 after buying an additional 26,439 shares during the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the firm’s 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BBY shares. Guggenheim lowered their price target on Best Buy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 29th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $109.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.72.

Best Buy Stock Down 1.2 %

Best Buy stock opened at $88.69 on Tuesday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.29 and a 52 week high of $103.71. The stock has a market cap of $18.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.16, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $86.10 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $9.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.63 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. Best Buy’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Company 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.