Conning Inc. Has $34.53 Million Stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Conning Inc. increased its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 402,500 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,266 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $34,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Tobam grew its position in Best Buy by 656.3% in the fourth quarter. Tobam now owns 9,197 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $789,000 after purchasing an additional 7,981 shares in the last quarter. William Allan Corp grew its position in Best Buy by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. William Allan Corp now owns 30,085 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $2,581,000 after purchasing an additional 1,184 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Best Buy by 64.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 38,443 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 15,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. grew its position in Best Buy by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 26,400 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 8,640 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total value of $6,049,258.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 92,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,052,442.20. The trade was a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of BBY opened at $84.81 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.29 and a 52 week high of $103.71. The firm has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.63 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.43%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BBY. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Best Buy from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.72.

Best Buy Company Profile

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.