Essex Financial Services Inc. Boosts Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 205.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,973 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,713 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $640,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 13.7% in the first quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 66,157 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $4,247,000 after acquiring an additional 7,982 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its stake in Best Buy by 7.2% during the first quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 17,245 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 1,161 shares during the last quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS raised its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Caliber Wealth Management LLC KS now owns 42,882 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $2,753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,330 shares during the period. Tred Avon Family Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 1st quarter worth about $690,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 46.9% in the 1st quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,704 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 2,141 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Down 0.2%

NYSE BBY opened at $77.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 1.12. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a one year low of $55.10 and a one year high of $84.99. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.30.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.82 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 48.70% and a net margin of 2.73%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.15 EPS. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 18th will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.9%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 71.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BBY. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $86.00 target price (up from $85.00) on shares of Best Buy in a 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 Saturday. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $77.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Thursday, May 28th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $60.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.50.

Insider Activity

In other Best Buy news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 500,350 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.12, for a total value of $38,086,642.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 10,930,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $832,036,206.32. The trade was a 4.38% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 1,784 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total value of $131,659.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 21,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,596,294. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,002,134 shares of company stock valued at $77,283,527. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy 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.