Ameriprise Financial Inc. Acquires 42,159 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 723,133 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,159 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $62,074,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 971.9% in the fourth quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Best Buy by 186.9% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Best Buy by 18,700.0% in the 4th quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim decreased their target price on Best Buy from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Best Buy from $102.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $91.28.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $226,844.78. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,370,051.22. The trade was a 14.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total value of $3,784,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,144,515.20. The trade was a 47.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213 in the last quarter. 0.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBY opened at $68.85 on Friday. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a one year low of $54.99 and a one year high of $103.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The company has a market cap of $14.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.77, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.00.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced 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. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $13.69 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.72 EPS. Research analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.52%. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

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.