Amundi Decreases Stock Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Amundi reduced its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 17.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,122,359 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 670,076 shares during the period. Amundi’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $264,822,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Best Buy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Best Buy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 247,510 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $25,568,000 after acquiring an additional 4,958 shares during the last quarter. Consolidated Planning Corp purchased a new position in Best Buy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $427,000. Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Best Buy in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $5,134,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Best Buy by 202.0% in the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 33,647 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $3,476,000 after acquiring an additional 22,507 shares during the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp reaffirmed a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total value of $6,049,258.36. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at $8,052,442.20. The trade was a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of Best Buy stock opened at $79.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.58 and a 200 day moving average of $90.43. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $69.29 and a fifty-two week high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.77%. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. Best Buy’s payout ratio is presently 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.