Mathew Watson Sells 2,951 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Stock

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,951 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $214,390.15. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,552,603.15. The trade was a 12.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Mathew Watson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, March 14th, Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of Best Buy stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $226,844.78.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BBY opened at $74.89 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.29 and a fifty-two week high of $103.71. 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 cap 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 business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.48.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.72 EPS. As a group, equities 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. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. 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 yield of 5.07%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.99%.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 320,816 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $33,140,000 after purchasing an additional 12,694 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Best Buy by 31.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 165,627 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $17,109,000 after buying an additional 40,076 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 54.1% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 5,463 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $564,000 after acquiring an additional 1,918 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 3,511 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $15,803,000 after acquiring an additional 7,430 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBY has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy 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 given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.