Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Trims Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 2.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,384 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 381 shares during the period. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $1,320,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 971.9% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in Best Buy by 1,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 416 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its stake in Best Buy by 632.1% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBY has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Guggenheim reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. UBS Group set a $105.00 price objective on Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” 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 issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.50.

Best Buy Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE BBY opened at $74.63 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $83.01 and its 200 day moving average is $88.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a twelve month low of $69.29 and a twelve month high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.69 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.72 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.09%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is presently 88.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $226,844.78. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,370,051.22. This represents a 14.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry bought 13,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $72.92 per share, with a total value of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,620,637.60. The trade was a 3.70 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

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.