Banco Santander S.A. Sells 24,634 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Banco Santander S.A. cut its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 91.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,341 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 24,634 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Best Buy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 247,510 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $25,568,000 after buying an additional 4,958 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Best Buy by 202.0% in the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 33,647 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $3,476,000 after acquiring an additional 22,507 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its position in Best Buy by 7.3% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 74,142 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $7,659,000 after purchasing an additional 5,050 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 496.2% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 47,229 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $4,879,000 after purchasing an additional 39,307 shares during the period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Best Buy during the third quarter worth about $72,000. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Loop Capital reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Best Buy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.50.

Best Buy Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of BBY opened at $78.90 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $85.44 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a PE ratio of 13.49, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. 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 (NYSE:BBY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total value of $6,049,258.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at $8,052,442.20. This trade represents a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

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.