Baldwin Investment Management LLC Buys 750 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Baldwin Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 7.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,206 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 750 shares during the period. Baldwin Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,614,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $29,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $26,236,000 after purchasing an additional 13,092 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 26,329 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 8.1% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LOW. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $226.83 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.38 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $223.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.26.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.