Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 38,216 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 52.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,857 shares of the technology retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 38,216 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.05% of Best Buy worth $9,511,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Greenleaf Trust raised its position in Best Buy by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,454 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $977,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Best Buy by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,904 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $2,566,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Access Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Best Buy by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Access Investment Management LLC now owns 1,380 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Best Buy by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 2,861 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $246,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in Best Buy by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,243 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $107,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $109.00 to $101.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Best Buy from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.72.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In related news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.46, for a total transaction of $6,049,258.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,052,442.20. The trade was a 42.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of BBY traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $90.98. 3,448,965 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,454,934. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $86.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.23. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $69.29 and a 1 year high of $103.71. The stock has a market cap of $19.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.43.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.04). Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The company had revenue of $9.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.13%. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.27%.

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.