Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 60,878 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 6,755 shares during the quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $5,223,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 10.5% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 31,745 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $3,279,000 after purchasing an additional 3,025 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Best Buy by 27.4% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 90,341 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $9,332,000 after buying an additional 19,405 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 154,564 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $15,806,000 after acquiring an additional 18,171 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $453,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,384,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $105.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.72.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total transaction of $6,049,258.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 92,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,052,442.20. The trade was a 42.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Best Buy Price Performance

BBY stock opened at $85.08 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.29 and a 52-week high of $103.71. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $86.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $90.19.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by ($0.04). Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The business had revenue of $9.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.42%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is 64.27%.

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.