Insider Selling: Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CAO Sells 2,951 Shares of Stock

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,951 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $214,390.15. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,371 shares in the company, valued at $1,552,603.15. This trade represents a 12.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Mathew Watson also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, March 14th, Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of Best Buy stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $226,844.78.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of BBY opened at $72.28 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.31. 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 52 week low of $69.29 and a 52 week high of $103.71. The stock has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.72 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.26%. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 971.9% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 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. raised 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 18,700.0% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. UBS Group set a $105.00 price objective on Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.50.

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.