AQR Capital Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 14.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,839,068 shares of the technology retailer's stock after selling 305,872 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.86% of Best Buy worth $157,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Best Buy by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 2,538 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 43,215 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $3,708,000 after acquiring an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its stake in shares of Best Buy by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 861 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $74,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in Best Buy by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,002 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Best Buy by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,904 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $2,566,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. 80.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Best Buy Stock Performance

NYSE:BBY traded up $1.01 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $68.05. 3,315,467 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,320,924. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.99 and a 1-year high of $103.71. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $14.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.11 and a 200 day moving average of $81.94.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.40 by $0.18. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. The firm had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.72 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.95 per share. This is a boost from Best Buy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.94. This represents a $3.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 25th. Best Buy's dividend payout ratio is currently 88.99%.

Insider Activity at Best Buy

In other news, CAO Mathew Watson sold 2,951 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total transaction of $214,390.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 21,371 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,552,603.15. This represents a 12.13 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Matthew M. Bilunas sold 51,000 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total value of $3,784,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 55,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,144,515.20. This trade represents a 47.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on BBY shares. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on Best Buy from $81.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wedbush reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Best Buy in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective on shares of Best Buy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Best Buy from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $91.28.

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.