Boston Family Office LLC Sells 1,982 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Boston Family Office LLC lessened its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 8.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 20,680 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,982 shares during the period. Boston Family Office LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $4,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $29,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $26,236,000 after purchasing an additional 13,092 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advent Capital Management DE boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Advent Capital Management DE now owns 18,000 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,198,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.5%

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $251.86 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $226.61 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.50. The stock has a market cap of $141.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.89.

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, 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 company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.06 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were 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 owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.68.

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.