Hartford Investment Management Co. Sells 234 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Hartford Investment Management Co. cut its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,119 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 234 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $1,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 1,200.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 416 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. LRI Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 632.1% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Up 2.2 %

Best Buy stock opened at $91.16 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a one year low of $69.29 and a one year high of $103.71. The stock has a market cap of $19.49 billion, a PE ratio of 15.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.43. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average of $85.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.03.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.04). Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The company had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on Best Buy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.72.

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.