Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Position Boosted by Verdence Capital Advisors LLC

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 54.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,908 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,855 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $854,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the period. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Hartford Financial Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 56.5% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 90.6% in 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 last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $76.15 on Monday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $62.30 and a 52 week high of $86.11. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $77.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.98. The stock has a market cap 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.

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

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet upgraded shares of Best Buy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Best Buy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Best Buy from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.60.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of the business’s 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 owns 431,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,670,060.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Best Buy 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 431,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,670,060.56. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 28,042 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $2,293,835.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 429,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,105,206.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,023 shares of company stock worth $4,253,900 in the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.