Wealth Alliance Sells 450 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Wealth Alliance lessened its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,885 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 450 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. now owns 3,994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $889,000 after buying an additional 403 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 6,669 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 1,001 shares during the period. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 14,188 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,158,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. now owns 117,999 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $26,261,000 after purchasing an additional 2,511 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Analysts LLC grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital Analysts LLC now owns 24,665 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,489,000 after buying an additional 892 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on LOW. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird upgraded 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. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW traded down $0.72 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $229.29. 1,615,074 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,559,051. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $238.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a PEG ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.13. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $262.49.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.43%.

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.