Conning Inc. Purchases 97,705 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Key Points

• Conning Inc. increased its Best Buy stake by 22.4% in the first quarter, buying 97,705 additional shares and bringing its total holdings to 534,415 shares worth about $34.3 million.
• Best Buy posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.28 and revenue of $8.94 billion, both above analyst estimates; the company also reaffirmed FY 2027 guidance of 6.3 to 6.6 EPS.
• Analysts remain cautious overall despite recent price-target increases, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.50, while Best Buy stock recently traded near $82.97 and offers a 4.6% dividend yield.

Conning Inc. lifted its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 22.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 534,415 shares of the technology retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 97,705 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Best Buy worth $34,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Best Buy in the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. increased its stake in Best Buy by 239.2% in the fourth quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 441 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on BBY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Best Buy from $59.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wedbush raised their price target on Best Buy from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Evercore boosted their price objective on Best Buy from $65.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on shares of Best Buy from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.50.

Best Buy Stock Up 3.7%

BBY stock opened at $82.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.30. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $55.10 and a twelve month high of $84.99. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $70.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 28th. The technology retailer reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.23 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $8.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 48.70% and a net margin of 2.73%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.15 earnings per share. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 18th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 18th. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio is 71.11%.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 224,705 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total transaction of $17,549,460.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman directly owned 10,430,936 shares in the company, valued at $814,656,101.60. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 1,784 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 29th. The shares were 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. This represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 1,002,134 shares of company stock worth $77,283,527 over the last quarter. Corporate 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.

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