Matthew M. Bilunas Sells 51,000 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Stock

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total transaction of $3,784,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,144,515.20. The trade was a 47.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Best Buy Stock Performance

NYSE:BBY opened at $74.78 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $82.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.29 and a 1 year high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.72 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors 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. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBY has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp reissued a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays decreased their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, UBS Group set a $105.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.50.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of BBY. Stevens Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Best Buy by 228.7% in the fourth quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 22,625 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 15,741 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,293,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 26,400 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $2,265,000 after buying an additional 8,640 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 424.0% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 26,200 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 21,200 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $453,000. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.