Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Buys Shares of 600 Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 600 shares of the technology retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $51,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BBY. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 971.9% during the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 186.9% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 1,200.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 416 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Best Buy news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $226,844.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,370,051.22. This represents a 14.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,620,637.60. This represents a 3.70 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 78,355 shares of company stock valued at $5,767,213 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Up 13.5 %

NYSE:BBY opened at $63.74 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a one year low of $54.99 and a one year high of $103.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $85.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. The company 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $2.72 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.96%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is presently 88.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays cut their target price on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Best Buy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.28.

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.