Wedmont Private Capital Acquires 852 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 18.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,478 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 852 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $452,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 69.5% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 322 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Best Buy by 549.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 357 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BBY. Barclays upped 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 report on Friday, March 1st. UBS Group raised shares of Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $106.00 in a research report on Monday, June 17th. DA Davidson upped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price 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, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $90.87.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.85, for a total transaction of $85,850,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,890,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,364,165,342.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 1,000,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $85.85, for a total transaction of $85,850,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 15,890,103 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,364,165,342.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,520 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.43, for a total transaction of $290,153.60. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 22,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,823,186.74. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,004,149 shares of company stock valued at $166,397,807. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Performance

NYSE BBY opened at $90.38 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.30 and a 1 year high of $93.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.50 billion, a PE ratio of 15.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.30.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The technology retailer reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $8.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.96 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.90% and a return on equity of 47.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.15 EPS. Analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 20th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.85%.

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.