Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Shares Sold by Westpac Banking Corp

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 21.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 43,909 shares of the technology retailer's stock after selling 11,955 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Best Buy were worth $3,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its position in Best Buy by 228.7% in the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 22,625 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $1,941,000 after acquiring an additional 15,741 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc purchased a new position in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth $3,293,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,982,608 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $1,971,908,000 after purchasing an additional 191,161 shares in the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of Best Buy by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 26,400 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $2,265,000 after buying an additional 8,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp raised its position in Best Buy by 424.0% in the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 26,200 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $2,248,000 after buying an additional 21,200 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BBY. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Best Buy from $81.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Best Buy from $100.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $91.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 6,847 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total value of $497,434.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 87,389 shares in the company, valued at $6,348,810.85. The trade was a 7.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 4,893 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total value of $355,476.45. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,320 shares in the company, valued at $2,348,048. This trade represents a 13.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 78,355 shares of company stock valued at $5,767,213 over the last quarter. 0.59% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Best Buy Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE BBY traded down $0.63 on Tuesday, hitting $60.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,086,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,143,319. The business's fifty day moving average price is $80.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52-week low of $57.34 and a 52-week high of $103.71. The stock has a market cap of $12.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $13.69 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be issued a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 25th. This is a positive change from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.27%. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

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.