Cetera Trust Company N.A Has $111,000 Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Cetera Trust Company N.A lessened its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 83.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 477 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,430 shares during the period. Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $111,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $225.35 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $126.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.40. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.13%. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 39.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on LOW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 research report on Tuesday, May 6th. DA Davidson cut their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 target price on Lowe’s Companies and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.12.

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.