Harbour Investments Inc. Increases Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,646 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,016,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. FMR LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,483,558,000 after buying an additional 259,766 shares in the last quarter. 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 acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% during the 4th 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 worth $1,242,793,000 after purchasing an additional 323,371 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 350.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $585,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 2,984.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $475,339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,971,996 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe’s Companies 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $226.33 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $231.74. The company has a market cap of $126.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.75, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.89. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.38 and a one year 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on shares of 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. Citigroup cut their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $270.68.

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.