Corie S. Barry Purchases 13,500 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Stock

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CEO Corie S. Barry purchased 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at $27,620,637.60. The trade was a 3.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Best Buy Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of Best Buy stock traded down $2.41 during trading on Thursday, hitting $70.23. 3,381,410 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,996,632. The firm has a market cap of $15.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.29 and a 52-week high of $103.71. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.19.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.41%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is presently 88.99%.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in shares of Best Buy by 254.9% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 15,349 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,317,000 after purchasing an additional 11,024 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. GHE LLC now owns 19,163 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,644,000 after acquiring an additional 788 shares in the last quarter. Total Wealth Planning & Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at about $731,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,090,000. Finally, Brooklyn FI LLC acquired a new stake in Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at about $315,000. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBY has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, March 3rd. UBS Group set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.50.

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.