Kathleen Scarlett Sells 6,847 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Stock

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 6,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $497,434.55. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 87,389 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,348,810.85. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of BBY stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.78. The stock had a trading volume of 2,397,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,091,733. The firm has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. 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 Co., Inc. has a one year low of $69.29 and a one year high of $103.71. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $88.68.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.72 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.08%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.99%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Best Buy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of BBY. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in Best Buy by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,538 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its stake in Best Buy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 43,215 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $3,708,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 36.3% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 529 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its holdings in Best Buy by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 861 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,002 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Loop Capital restated a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on Best Buy from $102.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on Best Buy from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Best Buy from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on Best Buy from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.