Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Insider Todd G. Hartman Sells 4,893 Shares

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) insider Todd G. Hartman sold 4,893 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $355,476.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,320 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,348,048. This represents a 13.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Best Buy Stock Performance

NYSE BBY opened at $74.78 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $82.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $88.58. The firm has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.29 and a twelve month high of $103.71. 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 (NYSE:BBY) last released 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. The firm 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 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.08%. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its position in Best Buy by 228.7% in the fourth quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 22,625 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,941,000 after buying an additional 15,741 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth about $3,293,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 26,400 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 8,640 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its holdings in Best Buy by 424.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 26,200 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after purchasing an additional 21,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth about $453,000. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on BBY. DA Davidson decreased their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Best Buy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” 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 given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.