Bank Hapoalim BM Trims Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Bank Hapoalim BM decreased its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,870 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 741 shares during the quarter. Bank Hapoalim BM’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $1,876,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BBY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Best Buy by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,164,953 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $636,840,000 after buying an additional 241,988 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Best Buy by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,852,980 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $499,954,000 after buying an additional 120,185 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Best Buy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,440,215 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $355,374,000 after buying an additional 62,452 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Best Buy by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,388,151 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $143,396,000 after buying an additional 44,693 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Best Buy by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,160,614 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $119,892,000 after buying an additional 61,119 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on BBY shares. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $101.72.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBY opened at $85.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $18.19 billion, a PE ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.43. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.29 and a 12 month high of $103.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $86.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.13.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.04). Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The firm had revenue of $9.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total value of $6,049,258.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,052,442.20. This trade represents a 42.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

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.