Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 13.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 593,232 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 92,896 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.27% of Best Buy worth $48,663,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC raised its position in Best Buy by 69.5% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 322 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 5,087 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $422,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Best Buy by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its stake in Best Buy by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,839 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PrairieView Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 67.1% in the first quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Jason J. Bonfig sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $290,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 50,714 shares in the company, valued at $4,210,276.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Best Buy news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 1,000,000 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.85, for a total value of $85,850,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,890,103 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,364,165,342.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jason J. Bonfig sold 3,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $290,570.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,210,276.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,383,370 shares of company stock valued at $288,293,276 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Performance

NYSE BBY remained flat at $87.35 during trading hours on Friday. 1,734,759 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,898,491. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 1.01. The company has a market cap of $18.84 billion, a PE ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 1.48. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $84.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.05. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.30 and a 12-month high of $93.72.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The technology retailer reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $8.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.96 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 47.56%. The company’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 20th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 20th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.30%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Best Buy from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Truist Financial restated a “hold” rating and set a $86.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, July 1st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their price objective on Best Buy from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $90.87.

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.