Baird Financial Group Inc. Increases Stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,413 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,735 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $4,411,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in Best Buy by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,538 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 43,215 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $3,708,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 861 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $74,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance increased its holdings in Best Buy by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,002 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Best Buy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,904 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $2,566,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on BBY. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Best Buy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their target price on Best Buy from $81.00 to $64.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.28.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Corie S. Barry bought 13,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were bought at an average price of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 378,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,620,637.60. This trade represents a 3.70 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 4,893 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $355,476.45. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,348,048. This represents a 13.15 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 78,355 shares of company stock valued at $5,767,213 in the last 90 days. 0.47% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Best Buy Trading Down 0.8 %

NYSE:BBY opened at $68.85 on Friday. The stock 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 company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $68.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.00. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.99 and a 52 week high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $2.72 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

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

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.