Franklin Resources Inc. Grows Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 753,471 shares of the technology retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 201,562 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.35% of Best Buy worth $73,016,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Best Buy by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,164,953 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $636,840,000 after purchasing an additional 241,988 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Best Buy by 2.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,852,980 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $499,954,000 after acquiring an additional 120,185 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in Best Buy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,440,215 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $355,374,000 after acquiring an additional 62,452 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Best Buy by 8.3% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,055,743 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $257,569,000 after purchasing an additional 235,478 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 55.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,863,291 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $241,347,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024,824 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BBY shares. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $123.00 to $115.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Best Buy from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Best Buy from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued 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 company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was 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 $8,052,442.20. This represents a 42.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.59% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of Best Buy stock traded down $1.08 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $87.48. 2,617,804 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,086,403. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.29 and a 52-week high of $103.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.59. The company has a market capitalization of $18.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.44.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). The firm had revenue of $9.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $9.63 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.30%. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.