Salem Investment Counselors Inc. Reduces Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Salem Investment Counselors Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,398,092 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 31,810 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies makes up 11.4% of Salem Investment Counselors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its biggest holding. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. owned 0.25% of Lowe’s Companies worth $326,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 60.0% during 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $223.35 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.39 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $223.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.51. The company has a market cap of $125.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.12.

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.