Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Stock Holdings Lessened by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama decreased its holdings in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,691 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 1,220 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $3,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BBY. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in Best Buy by 549.1% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its position in Best Buy by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Best Buy by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TheStreet raised Best Buy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup cut their target price on Best Buy from $76.00 to $67.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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 reduced their price objective on shares of 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 raised their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One 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, Best Buy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.00.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $73.06 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $77.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.34. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.30 and a 1-year high of $86.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $14.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.58 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 48.45%. Best Buy’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share 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 represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.15%. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total value of $27,728.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 431,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,670,060.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,520 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 22,118 shares in the company, valued at $1,823,186.74. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total transaction of $27,728.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 431,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,670,060.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,023 shares of company stock worth $4,253,900. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Company 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.