Westpac Banking Corp Has $3.77 Million Stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Westpac Banking Corp reduced its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,909 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 11,955 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $3,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 2,675 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $230,000 after acquiring an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Best Buy by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,092,820 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $436,210,000 after purchasing an additional 239,840 shares in the last quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 13.3% during the fourth quarter. Nemes Rush Group LLC now owns 118,392 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $10,158,000 after purchasing an additional 13,879 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 14.1% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 8,092 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 830,975 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $71,298,000 after buying an additional 77,504 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Best Buy Stock Performance

NYSE:BBY opened at $75.77 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $81.98 and its 200-day moving average is $87.76. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $69.29 and a 1-year high of $103.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a market cap of $16.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43.

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

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.02%. This is an increase from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 88.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Corie S. Barry purchased 13,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at $27,620,637.60. This trade represents a 3.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $226,844.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,370,051.22. This represents a 14.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,355 shares of company stock valued at $5,767,213 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on 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. Guggenheim reduced their price objective 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. UBS Group set a $105.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.50.

Best Buy Company 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.