Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Acquired by Private Management Group Inc.

Private Management Group Inc. raised its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,205 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $199.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:LOW traded down $3.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $230.29. 1,470,836 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,514,335. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $239.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.35. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.85 and a fifty-two week high of $262.49. The company has a market capitalization of $131.77 billion, a PE ratio of 17.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The firm had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.28 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

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.