Fortitude Family Office LLC Trims Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Fortitude Family Office LLC trimmed its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 32.3% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,244 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 593 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $290,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LOW. FMR LLC grew its position in 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 buying an additional 259,766 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,952,341,000 after acquiring an additional 245,876 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth $1,842,954,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% in 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 worth $1,242,793,000 after purchasing an additional 323,371 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on LOW shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on Lowe’s Companies and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho set a $280.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.6%

LOW opened at $221.23 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $223.50 and a 200 day moving average of $240.87. The stock has a market cap of $123.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.06 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.77%.

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.