AQR Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,839,068 shares of the technology retailer’s stock after selling 305,872 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Best Buy were worth $157,185,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Best Buy by 971.9% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 343 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Best Buy during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Best Buy by 186.9% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 373 shares of the technology retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Best Buy in the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 1,200.0% in the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 416 shares of the technology retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other Best Buy news, CEO Corie S. Barry bought 13,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $72.92 per share, with a total value of $984,420.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 378,780 shares in the company, valued at $27,620,637.60. This represents a 3.70 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mathew Watson sold 3,182 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $226,844.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 19,218 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,370,051.22. The trade was a 14.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BBY has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Loop Capital restated a “negative” rating on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Evercore ISI decreased 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 report on Wednesday, March 5th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, April 14th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $70.00 price target (down from $93.00) on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $91.28.

Best Buy Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of BBY stock opened at $66.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a PE ratio of 11.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $82.46. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.99 and a 1 year high of $103.71.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The company had revenue of $13.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.69 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.72 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. This is a boost 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 5.70%. Best Buy’s payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

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.