Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,459 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,042 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $8,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth about $317,000. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the third quarter worth about $831,000. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 35.6% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 94,282 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $6,550,000 after purchasing an additional 24,763 shares during the last quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 1,405.3% in the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 214,232 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $14,883,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 15.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,050 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $239,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Down 2.2 %

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $76.29 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.41, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.49. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.30 and a twelve month high of $86.11.

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

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.94 dividend. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Best Buy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $89.00 to $101.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on Best Buy from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price target on Best Buy from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.60.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In related news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,520 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total value of $290,153.60. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,823,186.74. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Best Buy news, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 3,973 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total transaction of $324,991.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,119,601.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,520 shares of the 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,394 shares of company stock worth $4,206,247 in the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company 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.