Community Trust & Investment Co. Raises Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Community Trust & Investment Co. grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 55,502 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,251 shares during the period. Community Trust & Investment Co.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $12,945,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 14.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 26,329 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,498,000 after buying an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 472,838 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $116,696,000 after buying an additional 7,187 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $882,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 target price on Lowe’s Companies and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $216.99 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $223.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.10, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.39 and a 52 week high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.06 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.