Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 2,891 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 97,173 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,891 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $7,607,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BBY. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 549.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 81.9% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,505 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total transaction of $204,909.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,097,188.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 52,023 shares of company stock valued at $4,253,900. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Best Buy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $95.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. TheStreet raised shares of Best Buy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Best Buy from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Best Buy has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.60.

Best Buy Trading Up 2.8 %

NYSE:BBY opened at $74.48 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $77.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.20. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.30 and a 12 month 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 stock has a market cap of $16.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.50.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.21. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 48.45%. The firm had revenue of $14.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.58 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current 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 given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.05%. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.08%.

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.