Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CAO Sells $214,390.15 in Stock

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,951 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total value of $214,390.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,552,603.15. This trade represents a 12.13 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $226,844.78.

Best Buy Stock Performance

NYSE BBY traded up $0.16 on Wednesday, hitting $74.78. The stock had a trading volume of 2,397,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,964,175. The company’s 50-day moving average is $83.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.68. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a one year low of $69.29 and a one year high of $103.71. The stock has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. 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 issued 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the company earned $2.72 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. 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 5.08%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Best Buy by 971.9% during 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. bought a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 18,700.0% during the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 research report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson reduced their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock 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 given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.