Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Grows Stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,384 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $1,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 103,459 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $8,100,000 after buying an additional 8,042 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at $317,000. Mirabella Financial Services LLP purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy during the 3rd quarter worth about $831,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Best Buy by 35.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 94,282 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $6,550,000 after purchasing an additional 24,763 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc raised its position in Best Buy by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 770,020 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $60,277,000 after purchasing an additional 85,286 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on BBY shares. TheStreet upgraded shares of Best Buy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Best Buy from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup lifted their price target on Best Buy from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $101.00 in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other news, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 3,973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $324,991.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,912 shares in the company, valued at $2,119,601.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Best Buy news, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 3,973 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $324,991.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,912 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,119,601.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 28,042 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total transaction of $2,293,835.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 429,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $35,105,206.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,023 shares of company stock worth $4,253,900. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:BBY opened at $74.43 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $77.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.08. The stock has a market cap of $16.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.08, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $62.30 and a 52-week high of $86.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $14.65 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. Equities 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 dividend of $0.94 per share. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.08%.

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.