Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. Has $1.76 Million Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,917 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 125 shares during the period. Westbourne Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,223,923 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,693,039,000 after buying an additional 374,457 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,690,606 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,329,237,000 after buying an additional 2,050,089 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,461,267,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,138,824 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,483,733,000 after buying an additional 78,901 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 107,710.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,080,039 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,012,147,000 after buying an additional 5,075,327 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $253.40. The company had a trading volume of 789,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,573,849. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.85 and a 52-week high of $262.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $231.47 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.72. The company has a market capitalization of $144.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $218.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $251.60.

Lowe’s Companies Company 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.