1,801 Shares in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Purchased by Sage Investment Counsel LLC

Sage Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,801 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $444,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,010,730 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,045,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,399,897 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,013,655 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,774,948,000 after acquiring an additional 460,851 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,733,461 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,169,041,000 after acquiring an additional 187,473 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,186,720 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,033,283,000 after acquiring an additional 385,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,369,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $912,508,000 after acquiring an additional 39,953 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.83.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $248.71 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $252.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $258.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $140.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.11. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $211.80 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.29 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Company 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.