Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Cuts Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 36.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 51,562 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 29,763 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $11,475,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.4% in the third quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 7,160 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,488,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 6.6% in the third quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,680 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the third quarter. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,795 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $373,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Patriot Investment Management Group Inc. now owns 1,858 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $386,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1900 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 209.9% during the 3rd quarter. 1900 Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,378 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $702,000 after buying an additional 2,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on LOW. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Citigroup increased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $199.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho started coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $2.65 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $232.78. 494,684 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,511,167. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $239.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.11. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $181.85 and a one year high of $262.49. The company has a market cap of $133.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The firm had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.89%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 33.43%.

Lowe’s Companies 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.