Advent Capital Management DE Acquires 3,000 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Advent Capital Management DE raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 20.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,000 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Advent Capital Management DE’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $4,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LOW. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $29,223,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $26,236,000 after buying an additional 13,092 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 8.1% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,860,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% in 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 buying an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 12.6% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,361 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,848,000 after buying an additional 3,295 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LOW opened at $241.37 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $224.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $230.78. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.38 and a 52-week high of $287.01.

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

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on LOW shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup reduced 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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