WASHINGTON TRUST Co Purchases 275 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 13.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,362 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the period. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $526,000 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 LOW. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 85.4% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock traded up $1.29 during trading on Thursday, hitting $254.62. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,088,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,578,713. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.85 and a 52 week high of $262.49. The stock has a market cap of $145.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $231.47 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $215.72.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.73%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Monday, March 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $251.60.

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.