Conning Inc. Buys 19,523 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Key Points

• Conning Inc. increased its Best Buy stake by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, buying 19,523 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 436,710 shares worth about $29.2 million.
• Analysts remain cautious overall on BBY, with nine Buy ratings, eleven Hold ratings, and two Sell ratings; the average price target is $70.80.
• Best Buy reported mixed fundamentals in its latest quarter, beating EPS estimates but missing on revenue; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 per share, implying a 6.8% annualized yield.

Conning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 436,710 shares of the technology retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 19,523 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc. owned 0.21% of Best Buy worth $29,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Huntington National Bank lifted its position in Best Buy by 12.0% during the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,298 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $98,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Best Buy by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,637 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $1,114,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,345 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. J. Team Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. J. Team Financial Inc. now owns 4,251 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $285,000 after buying an additional 171 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 12,363 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $827,000 after acquiring an additional 177 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on BBY shares. 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. Evercore set a $65.00 target price on Best Buy in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. HSBC reduced their target price on Best Buy from $96.00 to $85.00 in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Best Buy from $69.00 to $60.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Best Buy from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $70.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 5,339 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $341,802.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 44,098 shares in the company, valued at $2,823,153.96. This trade represents a 10.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 8,049 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $515,296.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 102,669 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,572,869.38. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 77,247 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,353 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBY opened at $56.67 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a one year low of $55.10 and a one year high of $84.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $11.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.17.

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

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th were paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 24th. This is a positive change from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.8%. Best Buy's payout ratio is 76.19%.

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.

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