Benjamin Edwards Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,441 shares of the technology retailer's stock after buying an additional 6,625 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s holdings in Best Buy were worth $7,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings in Best Buy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,538 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Mariner LLC lifted its position in Best Buy by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 43,215 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $3,708,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 19.7% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 861 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance lifted its position in Best Buy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,002 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Best Buy by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,904 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $2,566,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson reissued a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Loop Capital restated a "negative" rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI cut 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. KeyCorp reaffirmed a "sector weight" rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.28.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other news, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $72.92 per share, with a total value of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,620,637.60. This trade represents a 3.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total value of $3,784,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,355 shares of company stock valued at $5,767,213. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Best Buy Stock Performance

BBY stock traded up $1.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $68.39. 2,982,980 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,323,258. The stock has a market cap of $14.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.69, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock's 50-day moving average is $68.78 and its 200 day moving average is $81.34. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.99 and a 52-week high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. The business 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 previous year, the firm earned $2.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.56%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

About Best Buy

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.