Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. lessened its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,895 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,930,693 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,271,836,000 after purchasing an additional 116,855 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 78,901 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $581,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,727 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,111,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $438,783,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,032 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $430,090,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the subject of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays lifted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Zelman & Associates reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW traded up $2.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $232.16. 1,834,659 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,468,437. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $262.49. The company has a market cap of $132.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $240.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.52.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued 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 negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The firm had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.43%.

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.