Park Avenue Securities LLC Buys 804 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 6.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,213 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 804 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $3,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 60.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW opened at $223.59 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $223.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.12. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.39 and a one year high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $125.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92.

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

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.12.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

About Lowe’s Companies

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.