Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Sells 1,402 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,397 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 1,402 shares during the quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $1,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in BBY. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 4.1% in the third 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 2.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,852,980 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $499,954,000 after purchasing an additional 120,185 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 1.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 3,440,215 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $355,374,000 after purchasing an additional 62,452 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Best Buy by 3.3% during the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,388,151 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $143,396,000 after acquiring an additional 44,693 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in Best Buy by 5.6% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 1,160,614 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $119,892,000 after acquiring an additional 61,119 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.96% of the company’s stock.

Best Buy Price Performance

NYSE:BBY opened at $85.08 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $18.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.43. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 52 week low of $69.29 and a 52 week high of $103.71. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $86.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.13.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 26th. The technology retailer reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.30 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $9.45 billion during 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%. Best Buy’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current year.

Best Buy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, January 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th were issued a $0.94 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Best Buy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.27%.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 69,166 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 92,070 shares in the company, valued at $8,052,442.20. This represents a 42.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on BBY. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Best Buy from $111.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, November 22nd. DA Davidson reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Best Buy from $95.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $101.72.

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.