HighTower Advisors LLC Acquires 37,302 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 460.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 45,406 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after buying an additional 37,302 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $3,896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Best Buy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,538 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 861 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,002 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $258,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,904 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $2,566,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Claro Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,861 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Price Performance

NYSE BBY opened at $73.52 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.29 and a 52 week high of $103.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $83.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.36.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced 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. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The firm had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.72 earnings per share. Research 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 will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.17%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBY has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.50.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry purchased 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,620,637.60. This represents a 3.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $226,844.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,370,051.22. This represents a 14.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.