The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 156,894 shares of the technology retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,909 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.07% of Best Buy worth $13,462,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Best Buy by 971.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 186.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in Best Buy by 1,200.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 416 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BBY shares. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (down from $93.00) on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a "negative" rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Best Buy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.28.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBY traded down $0.88 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $66.78. 2,232,833 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,321,785. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.99 and a fifty-two week high of $103.71. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $81.53. The firm has a market cap of $14.12 billion, a PE ratio of 11.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.27.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 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 period last year, the company earned $2.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 25th. This is an increase from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio is 88.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the firm's 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 directly owns 55,856 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,144,515.20. This trade represents a 47.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry purchased 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $72.92 per share, with a total value of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,620,637.60. This represents a 3.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213. Insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

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.