Essential Partners LLC Lowers Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Key Points

• Essential Partners LLC cut its Best Buy stake by 91.7% in the first quarter, selling 13,077 shares and retaining 1,185 shares valued at approximately $76,000.
• Best Buy insiders sold 1,002,134 shares worth $77.3 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors collectively own 80.96% of the company.
• Best Buy reported quarterly EPS of $1.28, beating estimates by $0.05, with revenue up 1.9% year over year to $8.94 billion. The company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.96, equivalent to a 4.5% yield, while analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating.

Essential Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 91.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,185 shares of the technology retailer's stock after selling 13,077 shares during the quarter. Essential Partners LLC's holdings in Best Buy were worth $76,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Krane Funds Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC now owns 5,163 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Best Buy by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 4,270 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. J. Team Financial Inc. grew its position in Best Buy by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. J. Team Financial Inc. now owns 4,251 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $285,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in Best Buy by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,158 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital increased its stake in Best Buy by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Arjuna Capital now owns 20,673 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 1,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction of $131,659.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 21,630 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,596,294. This represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 224,705 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total value of $17,549,460.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman owned 10,430,936 shares in the company, valued at approximately $814,656,101.60. This trade represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 1,002,134 shares of company stock worth $77,283,527 in the last 90 days. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Best Buy Price Performance

BBY opened at $86.19 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.29. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $78.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.83. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.10 and a 52-week high of $91.26.

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

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 18th were issued a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 71.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $83.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 28th. Loop Capital cut shares of Best Buy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $82.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 13th. Evercore raised their price target on shares of Best Buy from $65.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Best Buy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Best Buy from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.50.

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.

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.