Everence Capital Management Inc. Invests $376,000 in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,800 shares of the technology retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $376,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BBY. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 32.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,885,308 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $773,724,000 after buying an additional 2,409,006 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth $161,121,000. HS Management Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at $103,854,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Best Buy by 1,079.7% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,330,700 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $104,154,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,900 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors acquired a new stake in Best Buy in the first quarter valued at $99,081,000. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BBY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $101.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. TheStreet upgraded Best Buy from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Best Buy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $95.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Barclays increased their price objective on Best Buy from $69.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Best Buy from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $84.60.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 28,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $2,293,835.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 429,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,105,206.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 28,042 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $2,293,835.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 429,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,105,206.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 5,096 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total transaction of $416,852.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 76,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,235,286.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 51,394 shares of company stock worth $4,206,247 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Price Performance

BBY stock opened at $76.00 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $77.95 and its 200-day moving average is $73.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $62.30 and a 1 year high of $86.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.49.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.51 by $0.21. Best Buy had a net margin of 2.86% and a return on equity of 48.45%. The company had revenue of $14.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.58 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.61 EPS. Best Buy’s quarterly revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were paid a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.95%. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.08%.

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.