Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 9.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,711 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 1,323 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 549.1% in the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Best Buy by 81.9% in the third quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 411 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares during the period. Finally, Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its stake in Best Buy by 56.5% in the fourth quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BBY has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $89.00 to $101.00 in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $68.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.60.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 3,973 shares of the 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 $324,991.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,119,601.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 3,973 shares of the 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 $324,991.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 25,912 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,119,601.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.76, for a total transaction of $27,728.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 431,231 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,670,060.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,023 shares of company stock valued at $4,253,900 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Price Performance

BBY stock traded down $1.39 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $73.61. The stock had a trading volume of 3,430,787 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,967,465. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $78.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $74.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $15.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth 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.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $14.65 billion for 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 company’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a $0.94 dividend. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.11%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.08%.

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.