First Merchants Corp Trims Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

First Merchants Corp lowered its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,230 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. First Merchants Corp’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $15,680,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,483,558,000 after purchasing an additional 259,766 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,952,341,000 after purchasing an additional 245,876 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,842,954,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,960,000 after buying an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,035,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,242,793,000 after buying an additional 323,371 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LOW. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of LOW opened at $221.47 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $124.12 billion, a PE ratio of 18.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.92. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $223.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $236.58.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.17%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.