Bleakley Financial Group LLC Buys Shares of 5,714 Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,714 shares of the technology retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Best Buy by 549.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Best Buy by 81.9% in the third quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its position in Best Buy by 90.6% in the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 385 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its position in Best Buy by 30.5% in the third quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 724 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Best Buy in the first quarter worth approximately $48,000. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Best Buy Price Performance

BBY opened at $78.00 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $77.87 and a 200-day moving average of $73.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.49. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.30 and a 12-month high of $86.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $14.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.58 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 48.45% and a net margin of 2.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.82%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BBY shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Best Buy from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Wedbush upped their target price on Best Buy from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Best Buy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Best Buy from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.60.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In other news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total value of $290,153.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,823,186.74. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Best Buy news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 28,042 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total transaction of $2,293,835.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 429,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,105,206.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total transaction of $290,153.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,118 shares in the company, valued at $1,823,186.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,394 shares of company stock valued at $4,206,247. 0.56% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.