Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Ellenbecker Investment Group

Ellenbecker Investment Group cut its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 40.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,301 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 868 shares during the quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LOW. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,111,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $438,783,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,032 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $430,090,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $581,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,727 shares during the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 143.8% in the 3rd quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 1,361,716 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $283,019,000 after purchasing an additional 803,216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $144,530,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on LOW. Telsey Advisory Group restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $199.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.0 %

LOW stock traded up $2.33 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $233.56. 2,097,060 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,532,215. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.85 and a 52 week high of $262.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $239.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $219.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The firm had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.43%.

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.