Intech Investment Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 17,231 shares of the technology retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,478,000.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc acquired a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,293,000. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its position in Best Buy by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 26,400 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $2,265,000 after purchasing an additional 8,640 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its position in Best Buy by 424.0% during the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 26,200 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $2,248,000 after purchasing an additional 21,200 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $453,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. raised its position in Best Buy by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 401,098 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $34,414,000 after purchasing an additional 84,505 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson lowered their price target on shares of Best Buy from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $93.50.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of BBY opened at $73.63 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $83.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.17. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $69.29 and a 12 month high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.72 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.16%. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 88.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $226,844.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,370,051.22. This represents a 14.21 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,620,637.60. This represents a 3.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

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.