Securian Asset Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,417 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 317 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $894,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in BBY. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in Best Buy by 1,200.0% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 416 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in 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 during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Best Buy during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $71.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day moving average of $84.40 and a 200 day moving average of $89.94. The firm has a market cap of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.29 and a 1 year high of $103.71.

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 business had revenue of $13.95 billion during 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 business earned $2.72 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on BBY. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $102.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Best Buy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other news, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at $27,620,637.60. This trade represents a 3.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.59% of the stock is owned by company 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.