Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CAO Mathew Watson Sells 3,182 Shares

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $226,844.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,370,051.22. This represents a 14.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBY opened at $73.86 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $83.75 and its 200-day moving average is $89.47. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.29 and a twelve 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 capitalization of $15.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.50.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Best Buy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,982,608 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,971,908,000 after buying an additional 191,161 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Best Buy by 6.4% during 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at about $514,483,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Best Buy by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,092,820 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $436,210,000 after buying an additional 239,840 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 13.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,824,425 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $328,136,000 after buying an additional 459,353 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Best Buy Company Profile

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.