Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. Has $719,000 Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc. raised its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 3.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,083 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Bowen Hanes & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $719,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,609,378 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,736,545,000 after acquiring an additional 230,359 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in 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 valued at $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.6% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,207,081 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,214,448,000 after buying an additional 501,154 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,111,747 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,192,213,000 after buying an additional 330,701 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,035,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,242,793,000 after buying an additional 323,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LOW opened at $250.86 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $140.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.89. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.38 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $227.16 and a 200-day moving average of $229.98.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 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 business had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.77%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price 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. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.68.

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.