Baird Financial Group Inc. Has $4.41 Million Stock Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,413 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,735 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $4,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its holdings 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. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Best Buy by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,692,118 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $316,784,000 after buying an additional 629,180 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Best Buy by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,982,608 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,971,908,000 after acquiring an additional 191,161 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new position in Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth $3,293,000. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth $9,073,000. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Down 0.8 %

BBY opened at $68.85 on Friday. 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 one year low of $54.99 and a one year high of $103.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $68.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.00.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $13.95 billion for 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 period in the prior year, the company earned $2.72 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,144,515.20. This trade represents a 47.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,951 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total value of $214,390.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,371 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,552,603.15. This represents a 12.13 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price 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 decreased their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on Best Buy from $102.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Best Buy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.28.

Best Buy 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.