Bridgewater Associates LP Decreases Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Bridgewater Associates LP trimmed its holdings in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 68.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,742 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 91,187 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $3,581,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,982,608 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,971,908,000 after acquiring an additional 191,161 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Best Buy by 6.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 395,415 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $514,483,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Best Buy by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,092,820 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $436,210,000 after purchasing an additional 239,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 13.7% in the fourth 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. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Best Buy Stock Performance

BBY opened at $61.97 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $84.44. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.99 and a 52-week high of $103.71. The company has a market cap of $13.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.59, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.72 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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 was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.13%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBY has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Best Buy from $102.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Best Buy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.28.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In related news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $226,844.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,370,051.22. The trade was a 14.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 4,893 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 transaction of $355,476.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,348,048. The trade was a 13.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213. 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.