Park Avenue Securities LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,225 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 891 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $826,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 10.0% in the first quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 11,043 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. Impact Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Best Buy in the first quarter valued at about $415,000. Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Best Buy during the first quarter valued at approximately $413,000. Stablepoint Partners LLC raised its stake in Best Buy by 66.7% during the first quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 10,757 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 4,303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Best Buy by 41.6% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,799 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 1,703 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 9,482 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $688,867.30. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,763,088.40. This trade represents a 8.15% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 729,201 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.95, for a total value of $53,195,212.95. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 196,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,305,495. This trade represents a 78.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 804,374 shares of company stock worth $58,735,581 in the last three months. 0.47% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Best Buy Stock Down 0.2%

BBY opened at $72.50 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.99 and a 12 month high of $103.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market cap of $15.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $67.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.80.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.06. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The firm had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 19th will be given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 18th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 92.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBY has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas upgraded Best Buy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Best Buy from $75.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Best Buy from $89.00 to $74.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Best Buy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.11.

About Best Buy

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.