Grimes & Company Inc. Sells 80 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Grimes & Company Inc. lessened its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 7,335 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,711,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 60.0% during the first quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on LOW. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. KeyCorp raised Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.12.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

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

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LOW opened at $211.91 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $118.76 billion, a PE ratio of 17.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.92. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.39 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $223.65 and a 200-day moving average of $239.07.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.09 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.11%.

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.