Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Has $95.76 Million Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 83.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 387,989 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 176,498 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $95,756,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 10,315 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,546,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,408,000. Vestment Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $984,000. Vident Advisory LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 239.9% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 68,079 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $16,804,000 after purchasing an additional 48,047 shares during the period. Finally, Vivaldi Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $261,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $250.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.17.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock opened at $234.44 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $131.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.39 and a one year high of $287.01. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $224.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $245.52.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.29 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 37.67%.

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.