Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Beacon Capital Management LLC

Beacon Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,856 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 92 shares during the quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 13.5% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 18,786.5% in the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 106,709 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $23,748,000 after purchasing an additional 106,144 shares in the last quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 215,442 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $47,947,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 824.6% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,339 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,414,000 after buying an additional 13,680 shares during the period. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $55,266,000 after buying an additional 20,181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $254.04.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE LOW traded up $9.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $250.07. 2,685,374 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,537,597. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $231.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.64. The stock has a market cap of $142.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.09, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 1.07. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.85 and a 1 year high of $262.49.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 8.46%. The company’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.56 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 24th were paid a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 24th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.24%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.95%.

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.