Fred Alger Management LLC Lowers Stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Fred Alger Management LLC cut its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 43,889 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 1,444 shares during the period. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $3,699,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC increased its position in Best Buy by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 322 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the first quarter worth $27,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 190.9% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 320 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. PrairieView Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 67.1% during the 1st quarter. PrairieView Partners LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Best Buy during the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 88,542 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $7,813,831.50. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 13,602,853 shares in the company, valued at $1,200,451,777.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 88,542 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total transaction of $7,813,831.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 13,602,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,200,451,777.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jason J. Bonfig sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.02, for a total value of $290,570.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,714 shares in the company, valued at $4,210,276.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,383,370 shares of company stock valued at $122,233,276. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $100.00 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $90.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.91. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.30 and a fifty-two week high of $103.71. The firm has a market cap of $21.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.23 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 47.19% and a net margin of 2.96%. The business’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 19th will be given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 19th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 65.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on BBY shares. BNP Paribas raised Best Buy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Best Buy from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Best Buy from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $101.00 to $111.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Best Buy has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.41.

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.