Conning Inc. Has $32.59 Million Stock Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Conning Inc. lessened its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 417,244 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 24,613 shares during the period. Conning Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $32,590,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,839 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,215 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $84,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 7,321 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $593,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Estate Counselors LLC lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 1.1% during the third quarter. Estate Counselors LLC now owns 15,290 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total transaction of $290,153.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,823,186.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Best Buy news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,520 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total value of $290,153.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,823,186.74. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 5,096 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $416,852.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 76,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,235,286.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,394 shares of company stock valued at $4,206,247. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on BBY. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $68.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet upgraded Best Buy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $89.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.60.

Best Buy Price Performance

Best Buy stock traded down $2.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $78.00. 2,710,637 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,183,204. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.68. The stock has a market cap of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.49. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a one year low of $62.30 and a one year high of $86.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.21. Best Buy had a return on equity of 48.45% and a net margin of 2.86%. The business had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.08%.

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.