Mizuho Securities USA LLC Acquires 5,790 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 45.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,519 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,790 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $1,589,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth $514,483,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Best Buy by 563.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 592,460 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $50,643,000 after acquiring an additional 503,204 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Best Buy by 817.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 537,886 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $55,564,000 after acquiring an additional 479,256 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Best Buy by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,824,425 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $328,136,000 after purchasing an additional 459,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,560,368 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $562,880,000 after purchasing an additional 395,415 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,370,051.22. This trade represents a 14.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $72.92 per share, with a total value of $984,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,620,637.60. The trade was a 3.70 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on BBY. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Best Buy from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities 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 issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.50.

Best Buy Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of BBY stock opened at $74.63 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $83.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $88.68. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.29 and a 12-month high of $103.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market cap of $15.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.09%. 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. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.99%.

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.