Sara Bay Financial Sells 308 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Sara Bay Financial trimmed its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,424 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 308 shares during the quarter. Sara Bay Financial’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 19,830 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,894,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $26,236,000 after buying an additional 13,092 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 26,329 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 472,838 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $116,696,000 after purchasing an additional 7,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,745,960,000 after buying an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp raised Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 target price on Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho set a $280.00 target price on Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW opened at $225.35 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.39 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $241.72.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.09 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.