Means Investment CO. Inc. Decreases Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Means Investment CO. Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 18.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,008 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 692 shares during the quarter. Means Investment CO. Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,842,954,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 350.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $585,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846,315 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 26,796.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $386,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,170 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $314,435,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.6%

NYSE:LOW opened at $210.72 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $223.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $238.45. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.39 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $118.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.92.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on LOW. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Bank of America cut their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, KeyCorp raised Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business’s 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 now directly owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.