Empowered Funds LLC Buys 138,306 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. $BBY

Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 235.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 197,017 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 138,306 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $12,648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of BBY. Torren Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Palisade Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Best Buy during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. boosted its position in Best Buy by 239.2% during the 4th quarter. Quest 10 Wealth Builders Inc. now owns 441 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BBY. Loop Capital lowered shares of Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $82.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, July 13th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a report on Friday, May 29th. Citigroup raised their target price on Best Buy from $60.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Daiwa Securities Group boosted their price target on Best Buy from $68.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.50.

Best Buy Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of BBY opened at $90.19 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $77.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $55.10 and a 1-year high of $91.27.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 28th. The technology retailer reported $1.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $8.94 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.82 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.73% and a return on equity of 48.70%. Best Buy’s revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.15 earnings per share. Best Buy has set its FY 2027 guidance at 6.300-6.600 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 18th were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 18th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.3%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 71.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 1,784 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.80, for a total transaction of $131,659.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 21,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,596,294. The trade was a 7.62% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 224,705 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.10, for a total transaction of $17,549,460.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 10,430,936 shares in the company, valued at $814,656,101.60. This represents a 2.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,002,134 shares of company stock worth $77,283,527. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.