Simplicity Solutions LLC Buys Shares of 5,705 Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Simplicity Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 5,705 shares of the technology retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $447,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 549.1% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 90.6% during the first quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 385 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its holdings in Best Buy by 56.5% during the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 81.9% during the third quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP bought a new position in Best Buy during the first quarter valued at about $48,000. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Best Buy Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE BBY opened at $76.00 on Friday. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $77.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.85. The company has a market capitalization of $16.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.30 and a 1-year high of $86.11.

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

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a $0.94 dividend. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.95%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is presently 66.08%.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In other news, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 5,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $416,852.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 76,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,235,286.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 5,096 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $416,852.80. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 76,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,235,286.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $204,909.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,097,188.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 51,394 shares of company stock valued at $4,206,247 in the last three months. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. TheStreet upgraded Best Buy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Best Buy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Best Buy from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Best Buy from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.60.

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.