Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 7,924 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 20.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,740 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 7,924 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $2,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Best Buy by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 103,459 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $8,100,000 after buying an additional 8,042 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in Best Buy during the third quarter valued at approximately $831,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake 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 worth $6,550,000 after buying an additional 24,763 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Best Buy by 1,405.3% during the third quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd now owns 214,232 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $14,883,000 after buying an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Down 0.3 %

NYSE:BBY opened at $76.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $77.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.85. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.30 and a 1-year high of $86.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.36, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.21. Best Buy had a return on equity of 48.45% and a net margin of 2.86%. The business had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.61 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 76,226 shares in the company, valued at $6,235,286.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,520 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated 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 is available at this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 76,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,235,286.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 51,394 shares of company stock worth $4,206,247. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BBY. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 8th. TheStreet raised shares of Best Buy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Best Buy from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.60.

Best Buy Profile

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.