Matthew M. Bilunas Sells 9,482 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Stock

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 9,482 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $688,867.30. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 106,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,763,088.40. This represents a 8.15 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Best Buy Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:BBY opened at $74.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50-day moving average is $82.70 and its 200 day moving average is $88.48. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.29 and a 1 year high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.72 earnings per share. On average, research 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.07%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is presently 88.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on BBY shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group set a $105.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.50.

Institutional Trading of Best Buy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stevens Capital Management LP raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 228.7% in the fourth quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 22,625 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 15,741 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new position in Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,293,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its position in Best Buy by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 26,400 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $2,265,000 after buying an additional 8,640 shares during the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in Best Buy by 424.0% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 26,200 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 21,200 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at $453,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% 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.