Fortitude Family Office LLC Sells 593 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Fortitude Family Office LLC lowered its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 32.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,244 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 593 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 119.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,889,000 after purchasing an additional 17,413 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Sapient Capital LLC now owns 3,989 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $985,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 4,861 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,200,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 76.3% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,870 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,696,000 after acquiring an additional 2,974 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on LOW shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. KeyCorp raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Mizuho set a $280.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $221.23 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $223.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.87. The company has a market capitalization of $123.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.77%.

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.