Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 45.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,519 shares of the technology retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 5,790 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Best Buy were worth $1,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BBY. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 320,816 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $33,140,000 after purchasing an additional 12,694 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Best Buy by 31.9% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 165,627 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $17,109,000 after buying an additional 40,076 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Best Buy by 54.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,463 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,918 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Best Buy by 16.6% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 24,720 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $2,554,000 after acquiring an additional 3,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Best Buy by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 152,985 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $15,803,000 after acquiring an additional 7,430 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. DA Davidson lowered their target price on Best Buy from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on Best Buy from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $93.50.

Insider Activity

In other Best Buy news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $226,844.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,370,051.22. This represents a 14.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total value of $3,784,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 55,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,144,515.20. This represents a 47.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of BBY traded down $2.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $72.28. The stock had a trading volume of 2,547,536 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,050,896. The business has a fifty day moving average of $82.51 and a 200 day moving average of $88.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.29 and a 12 month high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The business had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.72 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is a positive change from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.26%. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 88.99%.

Best Buy 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.