Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. Sells 35,374 Shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY)

Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. reduced its position in shares of Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY - Free Report) by 86.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,326 shares of the technology retailer's stock after selling 35,374 shares during the quarter. Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P.'s holdings in Best Buy were worth $457,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Best Buy in the 4th quarter valued at about $514,483,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Best Buy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $178,015,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Best Buy by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,692,118 shares of the technology retailer's stock valued at $316,784,000 after buying an additional 629,180 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 101.4% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,114,928 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $95,661,000 after acquiring an additional 561,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Best Buy by 461.2% during the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 621,994 shares of the technology retailer's stock worth $53,367,000 after acquiring an additional 511,161 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.96% of the company's stock.

Best Buy Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of BBY stock opened at $67.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.22 and a current ratio of 1.00. Best Buy Co., Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.99 and a fifty-two week high of $103.71. The company has a market cap of $14.31 billion, a PE ratio of 11.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.42. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $72.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $82.88.

Best Buy (NYSE:BBY - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 4th. The technology retailer reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $13.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $13.69 billion. Best Buy had a return on equity of 45.93% and a net margin of 3.01%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.72 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Best Buy Co., Inc. will post 6.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Best Buy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 25th were paid a dividend of $0.95 per share. This represents a $3.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.61%. 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. Best Buy's payout ratio is presently 88.99%.

Insider Transactions at Best Buy

In other news, CEO Corie S. Barry acquired 13,500 shares of Best Buy stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $72.92 per share, for a total transaction of $984,420.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 378,780 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,620,637.60. The trade was a 3.70 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen Scarlett sold 6,847 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.65, for a total value of $497,434.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 87,389 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,348,810.85. This represents a 7.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 78,355 shares of company stock worth $5,767,213. Corporate insiders own 0.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on BBY shares. DA Davidson reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $110.00 price objective on shares of Best Buy in a report on Monday, April 14th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Best Buy from $95.00 to $80.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. KeyCorp reissued a "sector weight" rating on shares of Best Buy in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Best Buy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Best Buy from $106.00 to $92.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $91.28.

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.

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