Freedom Investment Management Inc. Makes New $1.07 Million Investment in Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Key Points

• Freedom Investment Management Inc. has invested $1.07 million in Best Buy Co., Inc., acquiring 15,862 shares during the second quarter.
• Best Buy reported $1.28 earnings per share, exceeding analysts' estimates, along with a revenue of $9.44 billion for the last quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.95, representing an annualized payout of $3.80 and a yield of 4.6%, despite a payout ratio exceeding 100%.

Freedom Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,862 shares of the technology retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,065,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas raised its holdings in Best Buy by 0.5% in the first quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 30,970 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $2,280,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 2.4% in the first quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,348 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $467,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 2.5% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,162 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $454,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 0.8% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 19,033 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $1,278,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 0.7% during the first quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 21,965 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $1,617,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Best Buy Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of BBY stock opened at $82.35 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.99 and a 12 month high of $95.49. The stock has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.74.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 28th. The technology retailer reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $9.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.23 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 1.87% and a return on equity of 47.32%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.34 earnings per share. Best Buy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.150-6.300 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 18th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 18th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.6%. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio is 104.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 325,836 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.35, for a total value of $26,832,594.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 12,161,068 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,001,463,949.80. This represents a 2.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,018 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.76, for a total transaction of $154,901.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 20,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,545,332.32. This trade represents a 9.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 1,027,669 shares of company stock valued at $82,189,066. Corporate insiders own 0.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $88.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a report on Friday, August 29th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Piper Sandler reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $82.00) on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Best Buy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $81.69.

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.

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