Cary Street Partners Financial LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Cary Street Partners Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 42,470 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,712 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $9,905,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 60.0% in the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 3.4%

Shares of LOW stock opened at $233.99 on Tuesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.38 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $223.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.89.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. 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 (DPR) is presently 39.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Mizuho reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. 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. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.68.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.