Renaissance Technologies LLC Grows Stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 55.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 440,467 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 156,867 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.20% of Best Buy worth $37,127,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 8.3% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,055,743 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $257,569,000 after buying an additional 235,478 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its stake in Best Buy by 271.3% during the 2nd quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 2,417 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,766 shares in the last quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its position in Best Buy by 136.8% in the second quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 92,100 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $7,763,000 after acquiring an additional 53,200 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Best Buy by 5.6% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 818,138 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $68,961,000 after acquiring an additional 43,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy during the second quarter worth about $918,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:BBY opened at $99.07 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.46. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.30 and a 1 year high of $103.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $89.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $83.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.18. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 47.19%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, September 19th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 19th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Best Buy from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. DA Davidson increased their price objective on Best Buy from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Best Buy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Best Buy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $102.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Best Buy news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 691,328 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total value of $61,154,874.88. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 14,911,525 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,319,073,501.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Best Buy news, EVP Jason J. Bonfig sold 3,500 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total transaction of $290,570.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 50,714 shares in the company, valued at $4,210,276.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 691,328 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.46, for a total transaction of $61,154,874.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 14,911,525 shares in the company, valued at $1,319,073,501.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,383,370 shares of company stock valued at $122,233,276. 0.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.