Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 9,163 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after buying an additional 967 shares during the quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BBY. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the 4th quarter valued at $514,483,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $178,015,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Best Buy by 563.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 592,460 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $50,643,000 after purchasing an additional 503,204 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Best Buy by 817.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 537,886 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $55,564,000 after purchasing an additional 479,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Best Buy by 13.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,824,425 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $328,136,000 after purchasing an additional 459,353 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE BBY opened at $72.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $82.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.29 and a 52-week high of $103.71.

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

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.26%. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy’s payout ratio is presently 88.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, March 3rd. KeyCorp restated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Best Buy from $117.00 to $110.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Best Buy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.50.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In related news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,370,051.22. The trade was a 14.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 4,893 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $355,476.45. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,320 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,348,048. The trade was a 13.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,355 shares of company stock valued at $5,767,213. 0.59% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Best Buy 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.