Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CEO Purchases $984,420.00 in Stock

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CEO Corie S. Barry purchased 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,620,637.60. This represents a 3.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of BBY opened at $70.23 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $84.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.05. The company has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. 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.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.72 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current 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 boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.41%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 971.9% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Best Buy by 186.9% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its position in Best Buy by 18,700.0% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on BBY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group set a $105.00 price objective on Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. StockNews.com downgraded Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.50.

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.