Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Insider Todd G. Hartman Sells 3,973 Shares

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) insider Todd G. Hartman sold 3,973 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 $324,991.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 25,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,119,601.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Best Buy Price Performance

Best Buy stock opened at $81.85 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.85. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a one year low of $62.30 and a one year high of $86.11. 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 firm has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a PE ratio of 14.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.59%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.08%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on BBY shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Best Buy from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report 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 stock from $85.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Best Buy from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Best Buy from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Best Buy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.27.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 46.8% during the 2nd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 442 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,839 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Avory & Company LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Avory & Company LLC now owns 6,011 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Best Buy by 14.6% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,215 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

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.