Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Position Decreased by Capital Investment Counsel Inc

Capital Investment Counsel Inc cut its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.4% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 54,104 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 210 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies makes up 1.9% of Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Capital Investment Counsel Inc’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $12,619,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on LOW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target 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. Truist Financial set a $264.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of LOW opened at $226.96 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $235.45. The firm has a market cap of $127.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.90. 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 posted its earnings results 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. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.06 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 boost 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 2.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 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 SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.