Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY Shares Acquired by Vanguard Group Inc.

Key Points

• Vanguard Group increased its stake in Best Buy by 1.3% in Q4 to 24,255,320 shares, representing about 11.58% of the company and contributing to total institutional ownership of roughly 80.96%.
• Best Buy raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 (annualized $3.84), yielding about 6.3% with a payout ratio of 76.19%, up from the prior $0.95 quarterly payout.
• The company beat EPS expectations ($2.61 vs. $2.48) while revenue was slightly below estimates ($13.81B), set FY 2027 guidance of 6.30–6.60 EPS, and currently holds a MarketBeat consensus rating of "Hold" with a $71.75 target.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,255,320 shares of the technology retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 307,905 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.58% of Best Buy worth $1,623,409,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Best Buy by 99.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 3,496,254 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Best Buy by 293.6% during the 4th 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. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in Best Buy during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $55,475,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its position in Best Buy by 2,683.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 692,687 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $52,381,000 after purchasing an additional 667,801 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its position in Best Buy by 855.5% during the 2nd quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 686,644 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $46,094,000 after purchasing an additional 614,779 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on BBY shares. Evercore set a $65.00 price objective on Best Buy in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Best Buy from $94.00 to $89.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Best Buy from $7.00 to $8.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $71.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 11,356 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $727,011.12. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 76,884 shares in the company, valued at $4,922,113.68. This represents a 12.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,298 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $211,137.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 23,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,484,751.84. This trade represents a 12.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 77,247 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,353. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Best Buy Trading Up 3.1%

Shares of BBY stock opened at $60.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.66 billion, a PE ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $63.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.58. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $58.17 and a 1 year high of $84.99.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The technology retailer reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.48 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $13.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.96 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 49.17% and a net margin of 2.56%.The company's revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.58 earnings per share. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th were issued a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.3%. This is a positive change from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 24th. Best Buy's payout ratio is currently 76.19%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BBY? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.