Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Trims Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 93.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,232 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 200,000 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $1,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Best Buy by 81.9% in the third 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. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Best Buy from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. UBS Group upped their price target on Best Buy from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered Best Buy from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total value of $27,728.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 431,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,670,060.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Best Buy news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 28,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $2,293,835.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 429,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,105,206.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total value of $27,728.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 431,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,670,060.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 52,023 shares of company stock worth $4,253,900. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Best Buy Stock Up 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE BBY traded up $1.87 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.50. The company had a trading volume of 2,983,427 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,259,591. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 1.00. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.30 and a twelve month high of $86.11. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $76.44 and its 200-day moving average is $74.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.47 billion, a PE ratio of 12.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.50.

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

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.26%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.08%.

Best Buy 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.