Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CAO Sells $204,909.00 in Stock

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,505 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $204,909.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,097,188.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Best Buy Stock Performance

BBY opened at $81.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.85. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.30 and a 1-year high of $86.11.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.58 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 48.45% and a net margin of 2.86%. Best Buy’s quarterly revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 20th. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.08%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 549.1% during the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 81.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on BBY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Best Buy from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Best Buy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $69.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, December 11th. Wedbush upped their price objective on Best Buy from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Telsey Advisory Group raised Best Buy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.27.

About Best Buy

Best Buy Co, Inc engages in the retail of technology products in the United States and Canada. The company operates in two segments, Domestic 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, home theater, portable audio comprising headphones and portable speakers, and smart home products.