Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Boosts Stock Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 7.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,246,904 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 86,290 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans owned approximately 0.58% of Best Buy worth $106,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Best Buy by 971.9% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $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 in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Trust Co. of Vermont increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 1,200.0% in the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 416 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 632.1% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Best Buy Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of BBY stock opened at $73.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.29 and a 1 year high of $103.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $84.18 and a two-hundred day moving average of $89.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.76 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly 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 during 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.16%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 88.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on BBY shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Best Buy from $102.00 to $92.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Best Buy from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at $27,620,637.60. This represents a 3.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

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.