Swiss National Bank Has $49.45 Million Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Swiss National Bank lowered its stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 5.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 576,300 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 32,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.27% of Best Buy worth $49,447,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BBY. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Best Buy by 1,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 416 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Best Buy by 632.1% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBY has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays reduced 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 research note on Thursday, January 9th. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $105.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other news, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,620,637.60. This trade represents a 3.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BBY opened at $71.56 on Monday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.29 and a 12 month 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 company’s fifty day simple moving average is $84.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.95. The firm has a market cap of $15.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.23, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The business had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.72 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.31%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is presently 88.99%.

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.