Parallel Advisors LLC Has $1.88 Million Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Parallel Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 6.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,076 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 530 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 26,796.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $386,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,170 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,942 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,153,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 26.1% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 6,610 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,370 shares during the last quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Boston Common Asset Management LLC now owns 18,599 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,338,000 after purchasing an additional 3,341 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co of the South lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 6,160 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,437,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (down from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $225.57 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.39 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $224.20 and a 200-day moving average of $242.95.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.09 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.06 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 38.11%.

Lowe’s Companies Profile

Lowe’s Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a home improvement retailer in the United States. The company offers a line of products for construction, maintenance, repair, remodeling, and decorating. It also provides home improvement products, such as appliances, seasonal and outdoor living, lawn and garden, lumber, kitchens and bath, tools, paint, millwork, hardware, flooring, rough plumbing, building materials, décor, and electrical.