Sabal Trust CO Buys 9,126 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Sabal Trust CO raised its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 218,846 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,126 shares during the period. Sabal Trust CO owned 0.10% of Best Buy worth $16,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BBY. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Best Buy by 0.8% in 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 buying an additional 191,161 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Best Buy by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,560,368 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $562,880,000 after purchasing an additional 395,415 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth about $514,483,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,092,820 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $436,210,000 after purchasing an additional 239,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,824,425 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $328,136,000 after purchasing an additional 459,353 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 729,201 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.95, for a total value of $53,195,212.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 196,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,305,495. The trade was a 78.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on BBY. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a report on Friday, May 30th. DA Davidson restated a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, April 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 price objective (down previously from $93.00) on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.11.

Best Buy Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:BBY opened at $68.05 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $69.03 and its 200-day moving average is $76.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 1.02. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.99 and a 52 week high of $103.71. The company has a market capitalization of $14.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.25.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.09 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $8.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.77 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.13% and a return on equity of 46.40%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 19th will be given a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 18th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.58%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is 92.91%.

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.