Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 22,982,608 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 191,161 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.11% of Best Buy worth $1,971,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its position in Best Buy by 228.7% in the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 22,625 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 15,741 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 26.9% during the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 117,075 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $10,045,000 after purchasing an additional 24,785 shares in the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at $10,644,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Best Buy by 52.4% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 84,709 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $7,267,000 after buying an additional 29,141 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in Best Buy by 56.7% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 535,958 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $45,985,000 after acquiring an additional 193,830 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of BBY stock opened at $74.78 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.58. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.29 and a 52-week high of $103.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78, a PEG ratio of 2.10 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.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued 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 company had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.72 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 5.08%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on BBY shares. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Guggenheim decreased their target price on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $81.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.50.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In related news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $226,844.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,370,051.22. The trade was a 14.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total value of $3,784,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 55,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,144,515.20. This represents a 47.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,355 shares of company stock valued at $5,767,213. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

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.