Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Buys Shares of 36,438 Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 36,438 shares of the technology retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,126,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Best Buy in the third quarter valued at about $443,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Best Buy in the 3rd quarter worth $678,000. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Best Buy by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 116,167 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $12,000,000 after buying an additional 12,491 shares during the last quarter. Claro Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy during the third quarter valued at about $280,000. Finally, Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 6.0% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 608,300 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $62,837,000 after acquiring an additional 34,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Truist Financial reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $81.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a "negative" rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $93.50.

Remove Ads

Best Buy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BBY traded up $2.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $75.68. 3,255,454 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,969,184. 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 company's fifty day simple moving average is $83.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.01. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.29 and a 52 week high of $103.71. The company has a market cap of $16.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.43.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a net margin of 3.01% and a return on equity of 45.93%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.72 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a dividend 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 currently 88.99%.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $226,844.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,370,051.22. This trade represents a 14.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry bought 13,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 378,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,620,637.60. This represents a 3.70 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.