Artisan Partners Limited Partnership Has $59.34 Million Stock Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 70.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 691,643 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 285,320 shares during the period. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $59,343,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Best Buy by 16.6% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 24,720 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $2,554,000 after purchasing an additional 3,511 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in Best Buy by 5.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 152,985 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $15,803,000 after purchasing an additional 7,430 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,550,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Best Buy in the third quarter valued at $222,000. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total value of $3,784,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,144,515.20. The trade was a 47.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 4,893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total value of $355,476.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,348,048. This represents a 13.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213 over the last three months. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $74.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a market capitalization of $15.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.48. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a one year low of $69.29 and a one year high of $103.71.

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 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 firm 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 firm earned $2.72 EPS. 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lowered their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Loop Capital reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price objective 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 issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.50.

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.