Victory Capital Management Inc. Trims Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Victory Capital Management Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 25.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 891,253 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 296,525 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $69,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of BBY. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Best Buy by 81.9% during the third quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 185 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on BBY. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Best Buy from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. TheStreet raised shares of Best Buy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded shares of Best Buy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Best Buy from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Best Buy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.60.

Best Buy Stock Performance

BBY opened at $74.48 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $77.95 and its 200 day moving average is $74.20. 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 has a market cap of $16.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.09, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.50. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12-month low of $62.30 and a 12-month high of $86.11.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.58 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 48.45%. The company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. 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 business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.94 dividend. This is a boost 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 yield of 5.05%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 66.08%.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In related news, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 3,973 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $324,991.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,119,601.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 3,973 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total transaction of $324,991.40. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 25,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,119,601.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $204,909.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 25,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,097,188.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,023 shares of company stock valued at $4,253,900 over the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.