abrdn plc Increases Stock Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

abrdn plc boosted its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 770,020 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 85,286 shares during the period. abrdn plc owned 0.36% of Best Buy worth $60,277,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 549.1% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 81.9% in the third quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its stake in Best Buy by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC increased its holdings in Best Buy by 90.6% during the 1st quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 385 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of BBY opened at $76.15 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.40 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.49. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $77.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.98. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $62.30 and a 1-year high of $86.11.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.21. The business 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 company’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.94%. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Best Buy news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total transaction of $27,728.16. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total transaction of $27,728.16. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 28,042 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total transaction of $2,293,835.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 429,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,105,206.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,023 shares of company stock valued at $4,253,900 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on BBY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. TheStreet upgraded shares of Best Buy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Best Buy from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded shares of Best Buy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $68.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Best Buy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.60.

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.