NewSquare Capital LLC Acquires 2,651 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 88,933 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,651 shares during the period. NewSquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $6,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CWM LLC raised its position in shares of Best Buy by 12.1% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,064 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc raised its position in Best Buy by 52.9% during the 3rd quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 1,385 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 479 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 15.8% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,904 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $202,000 after purchasing an additional 397 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 9,130 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $634,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 4.1% during the third quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,552 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Stock Performance

Best Buy stock traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $75.05. 2,411,838 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,994,010. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $62.30 and a fifty-two week high of $86.11. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $77.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $16.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.49.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The technology retailer reported $2.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $14.58 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.61 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.01%. This is a positive change from Best Buy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 66.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on BBY shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $67.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Telsey Advisory Group raised shares of Best Buy from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $95.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Best Buy from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Best Buy from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $89.00 to $101.00 in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. One 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Best Buy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 5,096 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $416,852.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 76,226 shares in the company, valued at $6,235,286.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 5,096 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $416,852.80. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 76,226 shares in the company, valued at $6,235,286.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,505 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.80, for a total value of $204,909.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,638 shares in the company, valued at $2,097,188.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 52,023 shares of company stock worth $4,253,900. 0.56% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.