Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Takes Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC purchased a new stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 2,250 shares of the technology retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. Ninety One UK Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the second quarter valued at about $121,325,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 4,337.6% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,099,495 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $92,677,000 after purchasing an additional 1,074,718 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 55.7% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,863,291 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $241,347,000 after buying an additional 1,024,824 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,522,000. Finally, Mairs & Power Inc. raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 9,155.1% during the 4th quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 532,167 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $41,658,000 after buying an additional 526,417 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Price Performance

BBY stock opened at $98.33 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $92.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $85.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.46. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.30 and a 1 year high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The technology retailer reported $1.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.16 by $0.18. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.96% and a return on equity of 47.19%. The firm had revenue of $9.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.23 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 19th will be paid a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 19th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 600,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.29, for a total value of $52,974,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 14,002,853 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,236,311,891.37. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 88,542 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.25, for a total value of $7,813,831.50. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 13,602,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,200,451,777.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Richard M. Schulze sold 600,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.29, for a total transaction of $52,974,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,002,853 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,236,311,891.37. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,379,870 shares of company stock valued at $121,942,706 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BBY. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. StockNews.com raised shares of Best Buy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Best Buy from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $102.41.

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.