Calamos Advisors LLC Sells 20,167 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Calamos Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 6.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 282,725 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 20,167 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC owned 0.05% of Lowe's Companies worth $65,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 60.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. DA Davidson cut their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of LOW traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $228.00. 1,777,904 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,500,517. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.93. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.39 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $127.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.90.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.06 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared 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 is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.11%.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe's Companies 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.