New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust Acquires Shares of 950 Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 950 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LOW. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,930,693 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,271,836,000 after acquiring an additional 116,855 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,138,824 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,483,733,000 after acquiring an additional 78,901 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% during 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 buying an additional 1,831,727 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $438,783,000 after buying an additional 2,110,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $430,090,000. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LOW. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $199.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Gordon Haskett reissued a “hold” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE LOW traded down $0.33 on Thursday, hitting $229.96. 1,984,976 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,513,587. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-year high of $262.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $239.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $219.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.58 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

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.