Insider Selling: Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) EVP Sells 6,847 Shares of Stock

Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 6,847 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total value of $497,434.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 87,389 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,348,810.85. This represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Best Buy Price Performance

BBY stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $74.78. 2,397,876 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,091,733. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a one year low of $69.29 and a one year high of $103.71. 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 50-day simple moving average of $83.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.68. The company has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.08%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 88.99%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Best Buy by 971.9% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares in the last quarter. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Best Buy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 186.9% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Best Buy by 18,700.0% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $102.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Best Buy from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $93.50.

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.