Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) Price Target to $85.00

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) had its price target lowered by Wells Fargo & Company from $89.00 to $85.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the technology retailer's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on BBY. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 9th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $105.00 to $93.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Best Buy from $80.00 to $75.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their price target on shares of Best Buy from $105.00 to $90.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $93.50.

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Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BBY traded up $1.06 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $79.66. 3,116,016 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,963,150. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.62, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43. Best Buy has a one year low of $69.29 and a one year high of $103.71. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $85.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $90.43.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company earned $2.72 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Best Buy will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. This is an increase 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.77%. Best Buy's payout ratio is presently 88.99%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,052,442.20. This represents a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Best Buy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 971.9% in 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 period. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Best Buy by 186.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 18,700.0% in the fourth quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 376 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 374 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.