Stableford Capital II LLC Sells 973 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Stableford Capital II LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 19.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,026 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 973 shares during the period. Stableford Capital II LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 5.6% in the first quarter. Proathlete Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,020 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $708,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 3.2% in the first quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 6,915 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,622,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the first quarter. Alta Capital Management LLC now owns 64,008 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $14,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,183 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 4.5% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 315,604 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $73,608,000 after purchasing an additional 13,713 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 12.0% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 10,175 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,373,000 after purchasing an additional 1,087 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.6%

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $210.72 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $118.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.45.

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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.06 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. 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 (DPR) is presently 38.11%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on LOW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. KeyCorp raised shares of 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 note on Friday, April 25th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $264.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.12.

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.