KBC Group NV Sells 46,066 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

KBC Group NV reduced its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 375,595 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 46,066 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $38,799,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Raymond James & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,440,215 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $355,374,000 after acquiring an additional 62,452 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Best Buy by 8.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,055,743 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $257,569,000 after buying an additional 235,478 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Best Buy by 55.7% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,863,291 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $241,347,000 after buying an additional 1,024,824 shares during the last quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd bought a new stake in Best Buy during the second quarter valued at $121,325,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Best Buy by 55.4% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,379,195 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $116,252,000 after acquiring an additional 491,781 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BBY. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Best Buy from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. BNP Paribas upgraded Best Buy to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $106.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Best Buy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Best Buy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Best Buy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.35.

Best Buy Price Performance

BBY stock opened at $91.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.47. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.92 and a 52-week high of $103.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $95.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.23 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 47.19% and a net margin of 2.96%. Best Buy’s quarterly revenue was down 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.22 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.11%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.83%.

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.