Kathleen Scarlett Sells 6,847 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Stock

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 6,847 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $497,434.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,348,810.85. This trade represents a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BBY opened at $74.89 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $82.70 and a 200-day moving average of $88.48. The stock has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a PE ratio of 12.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.29 and a fifty-two week high of $103.71.

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

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 yield of 5.07%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Loop Capital restated a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,982,608 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $1,971,908,000 after buying an additional 191,161 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Best Buy by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,560,368 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $562,880,000 after acquiring an additional 395,415 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at about $514,483,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,092,820 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $436,210,000 after acquiring an additional 239,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,824,425 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $328,136,000 after purchasing an additional 459,353 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.