Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Sells 995 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lessened its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 9.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,640 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 995 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,248,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,483,558,000 after acquiring an additional 259,766 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,035,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,242,793,000 after purchasing an additional 323,371 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 350.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $585,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2,984.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $475,339,000 after buying an additional 1,971,996 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LOW. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. One research 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.68.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $223.55 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $125.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.90. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.38 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $222.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $231.92.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.06 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.77%.

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.