ING Groep NV Makes New $2.76 Million Investment in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

ING Groep NV acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 26,747 shares of the technology retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,763,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ninety One UK Ltd acquired a new position in Best Buy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $121,325,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 4,337.6% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,099,495 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $92,677,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074,718 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,863,291 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $241,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,824 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Best Buy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,522,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Best Buy by 55.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,379,195 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $116,252,000 after purchasing an additional 491,781 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBY has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $100.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Best Buy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on Best Buy from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $103.35.

Best Buy Stock Performance

NYSE BBY opened at $92.66 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.34. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.92 and a 1-year high of $103.71. The company has a market cap of $19.90 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.47. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $95.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.12.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.23 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 47.19%. Best Buy’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. 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.