Merit Financial Group LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 126.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 30,212 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after buying an additional 16,852 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $2,285,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 40.1% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 16,436 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 4,701 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in Best Buy by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,973 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Best Buy in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,128,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Best Buy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $392,000. Finally, Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in Best Buy by 202.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 604 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 404 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE BBY opened at $66.03 on Wednesday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.99 and a 1-year high of $91.68. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $68.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 1.05 and a quick ratio of 0.26.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 25th. The technology retailer reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.31 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.57 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 1.54% and a return on equity of 50.02%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 earnings per share. Best Buy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.250-6.350 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 16th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 16th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 125.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BBY shares. Daiwa Securities Group lifted their price target on shares of Best Buy from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 28th. Evercore reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $80.00 to $70.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on 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 restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.58.

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.