Center for Financial Planning Inc. Cuts Stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Center for Financial Planning Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 3,069 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 320 shares during the period. Center for Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BBY. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Best Buy by 563.8% during the fourth 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 boosted its stake in Best Buy by 817.4% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 537,886 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $55,564,000 after buying an additional 479,256 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Best Buy by 4.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,164,953 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $636,840,000 after buying an additional 241,988 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Best Buy by 36.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 753,471 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $73,016,000 after buying an additional 201,562 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in Best Buy by 156.6% during the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 316,593 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $32,704,000 after buying an additional 193,209 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total value of $6,049,258.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,052,442.20. This trade represents a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on BBY shares. Barclays dropped their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. StockNews.com lowered Best Buy from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Best Buy from $109.00 to $101.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.72.

Best Buy Trading Up 2.2 %

BBY opened at $91.16 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $85.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.03. The company has a market capitalization of $19.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.58, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.43. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.29 and a 52 week high of $103.71. 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 (NYSE:BBY) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $9.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.63 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.12%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.27%.

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.