Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by First Merchants Corp

First Merchants Corp cut its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.3% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 67,230 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $15,680,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 119.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,889,000 after buying an additional 17,413 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 31.6% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $266,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $353,000. Advisor OS LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 1,323 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $326,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Carlson Capital L.P. acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $568,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on LOW shares. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $221.47 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.39 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $223.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.92.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results 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. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 is a positive change 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 dividend yield of 2.17%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.11%.

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.