2,924 Shares in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) Acquired by Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc.

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,924 shares of the technology retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hartford Financial Management Inc. increased its stake in Best Buy by 56.5% in the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 388 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in Best Buy by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,839 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 14.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 1,215 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $84,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Pathstone Family Office LLC now owns 7,321 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $593,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Estate Counselors LLC grew its stake in shares of Best Buy by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Estate Counselors LLC now owns 15,290 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $1,062,000 after buying an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Shares of BBY traded up $0.15 on Friday, reaching $76.15. 1,368,396 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,634,290. The firm has a market cap of $16.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.37. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 12 month low of $62.30 and a 12 month high of $86.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $77.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.89.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.21. Best Buy had a return on equity of 48.45% and a net margin of 2.86%. The firm had revenue of $14.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down .6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.94%. This is a boost from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is 66.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on BBY. Citigroup boosted their target price on Best Buy from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Best Buy from $81.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Best Buy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. UBS Group boosted their target price on Best Buy from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 28,042 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $2,293,835.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 429,159 shares in the company, valued at $35,105,206.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Todd G. Hartman sold 3,973 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total transaction of $324,991.40. Following the sale, the insider now owns 25,912 shares in the company, valued at $2,119,601.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Corie S. Barry sold 28,042 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $2,293,835.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 429,159 shares in the company, valued at approximately $35,105,206.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,023 shares of company stock worth $4,253,900 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

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.