Blueshift Asset Management LLC Acquires 324 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 13.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,770 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 324 shares during the quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $750,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,010,730 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,045,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399,897 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $578,256,000 after acquiring an additional 2,027,668 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% during the second quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199,100 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 387.7% during the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 811,374 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $219,761,000 after acquiring an additional 645,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 170.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 735,633 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $162,178,000 after purchasing an additional 463,645 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $306.00 to $301.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $255.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 41.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE LOW opened at $273.14 on Thursday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.32 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $269.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $245.66. The stock has a market cap of $154.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $1.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.68%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.37%.

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.