Virtu Financial LLC Invests $457,000 in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 5,324 shares of the technology retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $457,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,560,368 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $562,880,000 after acquiring an additional 395,415 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth $514,483,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,852,980 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $499,954,000 after purchasing an additional 120,185 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,824,425 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $328,136,000 after buying an additional 459,353 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 1,606,242 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $137,816,000 after buying an additional 236,524 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $74.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a PE ratio of 12.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $82.84 and its 200 day moving average is $88.58. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.29 and a 1 year high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.72 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.08%. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on BBY. DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Loop Capital reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of 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. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.50.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $226,844.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,370,051.22. This represents a 14.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total transaction of $3,784,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 55,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,144,515.20. This trade represents a 47.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213 in the last quarter. 0.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.