Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,697 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of BBY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Best Buy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,164,953 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $636,840,000 after acquiring an additional 241,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Best Buy by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,852,980 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $499,954,000 after acquiring an additional 120,185 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 459,353 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,606,242 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $137,816,000 after acquiring an additional 236,524 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Eagle Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 3.3% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,388,151 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $143,396,000 after purchasing an additional 44,693 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Best Buy Price Performance

Best Buy stock opened at $75.40 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.29 and a 52-week high of $103.71. The firm has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 12.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $86.20 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.62.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.72 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.04%. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBY has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Best Buy from $107.00 to $95.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Best Buy from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays decreased their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Best Buy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.33.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total value of $6,049,258.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,052,442.20. This represents a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.