KBC Group NV Has $70.46 Million Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Key Points

• KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Best Buy by 293.6% in Q4, acquiring 785,294 shares to hold 1,052,805 shares worth $70.46 million (about 0.50% of the company), and institutional investors now own roughly 80.96% of BBY.
• Best Buy beat Q4 EPS expectations ($2.61 vs. $2.48) while reporting slightly lower revenue ($13.81B), set FY2027 guidance of 6.30–6.60 EPS, and carries an average analyst rating of "Hold" with a $74.85 target.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 (a 5.9% annualized yield), even as insiders—including the CEO and EVP—sold shares, with 77,247 shares disposed in the past three months.

KBC Group NV grew its stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 293.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,052,805 shares of the technology retailer's stock after buying an additional 785,294 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned 0.50% of Best Buy worth $70,464,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BBY. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 99.8% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 6,997,871 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $525,120,000 after buying an additional 3,496,254 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 61.9% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,998,886 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $151,156,000 after buying an additional 764,064 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy in the third quarter valued at approximately $55,475,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 2,683.4% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 692,687 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $52,381,000 after buying an additional 667,801 shares during the period. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 855.5% in the second quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 686,644 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $46,094,000 after buying an additional 614,779 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBY has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $81.00 to $77.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Best Buy from $68.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. DA Davidson set a $78.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Best Buy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, January 10th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.85.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of BBY opened at $64.68 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $59.77 and a 12 month high of $84.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.83, a PEG ratio of 1.56 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The technology retailer reported $2.61 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 business had revenue of $13.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.58 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 24th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 24th. This is a positive change from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio is currently 76.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, EVP Jason J. Bonfig sold 6,336 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total value of $405,630.72. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 79,137 shares in the company, valued at $5,066,350.74. This trade represents a 7.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 42,869 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $2,744,473.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 523,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $33,491,294.76. This represents a 7.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 77,247 shares of company stock valued at $4,945,353 in the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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