LSV Asset Management Cuts Stock Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,636,001 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 7,700 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $128,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 103,459 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $8,100,000 after acquiring an additional 8,042 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth $317,000. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the third quarter valued at $831,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Best Buy by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 94,282 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $6,550,000 after purchasing an additional 24,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 770,020 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $60,277,000 after purchasing an additional 85,286 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,505 shares of the business’s 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 owns 25,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,097,188.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $32,670,060.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $204,909.00. Following the sale, 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. Insiders sold 52,023 shares of company stock worth $4,253,900 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on BBY shares. Wedbush lifted their target price on Best Buy from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock 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 stock from $85.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $101.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Best Buy from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Best Buy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.60.

Best Buy Price Performance

NYSE:BBY traded up $2.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $74.47. 2,058,529 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,576,371. 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 firm has a market cap of $16.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.50. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $62.30 and a twelve month high of $86.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $77.95 and its 200-day moving average is $74.20.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $14.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. 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 5.05%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.08%.

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.