Bank of Nova Scotia Has $15.47 Million Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 42.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 180,324 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 53,792 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.08% of Best Buy worth $15,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,982,608 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,971,908,000 after buying an additional 191,161 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,560,368 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $562,880,000 after acquiring an additional 395,415 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at about $514,483,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Best Buy by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,092,820 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $436,210,000 after acquiring an additional 239,840 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Best Buy by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,824,425 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $328,136,000 after purchasing an additional 459,353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BBY has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Loop Capital reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.28.

Best Buy Trading Down 6.2 %

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $59.72 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.99 and a fifty-two 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 company has a market capitalization of $12.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $77.95 and a 200 day moving average of $85.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.72 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 6.36%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 88.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total value of $3,784,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,144,515.20. This represents a 47.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry bought 13,500 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 378,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,620,637.60. This trade represents a 3.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 78,355 shares of company stock valued at $5,767,213 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

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.