Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Increases Stock Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 706.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,214 shares of the technology retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 29,097 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Best Buy were worth $2,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,982,608 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $1,971,908,000 after acquiring an additional 191,161 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Best Buy by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,560,368 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $562,880,000 after buying an additional 395,415 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $514,483,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Best Buy by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,092,820 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $436,210,000 after buying an additional 239,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Best Buy by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,824,425 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $328,136,000 after buying an additional 459,353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $226,844.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,370,051.22. This trade represents a 14.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $4,144,515.20. This trade represents a 47.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on BBY. Wedbush reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target 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. UBS Group set a $105.00 price objective on Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Loop Capital restated a "negative" rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, KeyCorp restated a "sector weight" rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.28.

Best Buy Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of BBY stock traded up $1.71 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $67.71. 5,171,526 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,311,327. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.99 and a 52-week high of $103.71. 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 stock has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's fifty day moving average is $72.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.78.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) 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. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The firm had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.69 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.61%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This is a positive change from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

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.