Better Money Decisions LLC Purchases New Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Better Money Decisions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,455 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 19,830 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,894,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings 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 worth $6,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 472,838 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $116,696,000 after buying an additional 7,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,745,960,000 after buying an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. BNP Paribas raised Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho set a $280.00 price objective on Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW opened at $228.51 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $224.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $242.26. The company has a market capitalization of $127.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.39 and a 1-year high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.06 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.77%.

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.