Capital City Trust Co. FL Grows Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Capital City Trust Co. FL raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 60.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,824 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,067 shares during the quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $659,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter worth $36,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other 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 transaction of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price 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 issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW opened at $226.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. The business’s 50-day moving average is $223.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $232.36. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.38 and a 1 year high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.06 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. 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 2.12%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

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.