Insider Selling: Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Insider Sells 4,893 Shares of Stock

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) insider Todd G. Hartman sold 4,893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $355,476.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,348,048. This trade represents a 13.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBY traded up $0.16 on Wednesday, hitting $74.78. 2,397,876 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,091,733. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a P/E 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. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.29 and a 1-year high of $103.71. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $83.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.68.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its 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. 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on BBY. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Citigroup lowered 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 note on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $81.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Best Buy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 144.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,683 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $488,000 after buying an additional 3,354 shares during the period. DSG Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,777,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 49.9% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 172,806 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $14,827,000 after purchasing an additional 57,520 shares in the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 254.9% in the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 15,349 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 11,024 shares during the period. Finally, GHE LLC grew its position in Best Buy by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 19,163 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,644,000 after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.