Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Buys 967 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,163 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 152,985 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $15,803,000 after buying an additional 7,430 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of Best Buy in the third quarter worth about $1,550,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the third quarter worth about $44,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in Best Buy by 60.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 264,102 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $27,282,000 after purchasing an additional 99,090 shares during the period. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its holdings in Best Buy by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 7,420 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $766,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of BBY stock opened at $72.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.25. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.29 and a 52-week high of $103.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.26%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 88.99%.

Insider Activity

In other Best Buy news, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 4,893 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $355,476.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,348,048. The trade was a 13.15 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,951 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total value of $214,390.15. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 21,371 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,552,603.15. This represents a 12.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 78,355 shares of company stock valued at $5,767,213. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BBY has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.50.

Best Buy Company 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.