Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires 26,777 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Best Buy by 9.1%, acquiring 26,777 shares to hold 322,226 shares (about 0.15% of the company) worth roughly $21.73 million.
• Best Buy raised its quarterly dividend to $0.96 (annualized $3.84), implying a 6.4% yield and a payout ratio of about 76.2%.
• Company insiders have been net sellers recently: insiders disposed of 77,247 shares (~$4.95 million) in the past 90 days, including CEO Corie S. Barry selling 42,869 shares; insiders now own 0.47% of the stock.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 9.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 322,226 shares of the technology retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 26,777 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.15% of Best Buy worth $21,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Best Buy by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,947,415 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $1,810,904,000 after purchasing an additional 552,360 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Best Buy by 46.2% in the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 142,288 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $10,760,000 after purchasing an additional 44,989 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its position in Best Buy by 272.6% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 183,842 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $13,902,000 after purchasing an additional 134,508 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Best Buy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,754,844 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $132,701,000 after purchasing an additional 39,026 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al grew its position in Best Buy by 155.9% in the 3rd quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al now owns 157,400 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $11,903,000 after purchasing an additional 95,900 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on BBY shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. DA Davidson set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Best Buy from a "buy" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $59.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Daiwa Securities Group reduced their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore set a $65.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.85.

Best Buy Stock Down 1.7%

Best Buy stock opened at $60.45 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.77 and a twelve month high of $84.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $63.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.00. The company has a market capitalization of $12.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The technology retailer reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.48 by $0.13. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.56% and a return on equity of 49.17%. The firm 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 firm earned $2.58 EPS. The company's revenue 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. As a group, equities analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.5 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 24th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.4%. This is an increase from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.95. Best Buy's payout ratio is currently 76.19%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 8,049 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.02, for a total transaction of $515,296.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 102,669 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,572,869.38. This represents a 7.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 42,869 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 523,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $33,491,294.76. This represents a 7.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 77,247 shares of company stock worth $4,945,353. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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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