Ritholtz Wealth Management Lowers Stock Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Ritholtz Wealth Management lessened its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 43.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,973 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 6,799 shares during the quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Best Buy by 971.9% in the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Best Buy by 186.9% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 18,700.0% during the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of BBY stock opened at $67.76 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.99 and a twelve month high of $103.71. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $68.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.27. The stock has a market cap of $14.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.25.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.06. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 46.40%. The company had revenue of $8.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.20 earnings per share. Best Buy’s quarterly revenue was down .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 92.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total value of $3,784,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 55,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,144,515.20. This represents a 47.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 729,201 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.95, for a total transaction of $53,195,212.95. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 196,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,305,495. This represents a 78.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 804,374 shares of company stock worth $58,735,581 over the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on BBY shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Best Buy to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of Best Buy from $64.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, April 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.11.

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.