Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Shares Sold by Macquarie Group Ltd.

Macquarie Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY – Get Rating) by 9.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,059 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 7,115 shares during the period. Macquarie Group Ltd.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $4,437,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Best Buy by 1,434.3% in the 2nd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,845,844 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $315,901,000 after purchasing an additional 4,530,018 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Best Buy by 2.0% in the second quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,744,729 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $244,119,000 after purchasing an additional 72,608 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Best Buy by 6.8% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,720,949 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $338,235,000 after buying an additional 236,513 shares during the period. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Best Buy by 15.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,094,601 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $207,915,000 after acquiring an additional 424,638 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,572,322 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $162,952,000 after acquiring an additional 49,598 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.48% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Price Performance

BBY opened at $82.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $84.54 and a 200-day moving average of $77.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.98. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $60.78 and a 1-year high of $105.94.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The technology retailer reported $2.61 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $14.74 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.80 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 55.81% and a net margin of 3.06%. Best Buy’s quarterly revenue was down 10.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.73 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 22nd. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 55.96%.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In related news, EVP Damien Harmon sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.99, for a total transaction of $199,975.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,805 shares in the company, valued at $3,423,971.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Credit Suisse Group lowered their price target on Best Buy from $90.00 to $85.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group cut shares of Best Buy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $88.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on Best Buy from $80.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.44.

Best Buy Profile

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Best Buy Co, Inc engages in the provision of consumer technology products and services. It operates through two business segments: Domestic and International. The Domestic segment includes operations in all states, districts, and territories of the U.S., operating under various brand names, including Best Buy, Best Buy Mobile, Geek Squad, Magnolia Audio Video, Napster, and Pacific Sales.