Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Lowers Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,332 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 464 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,930,693 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,271,836,000 after buying an additional 116,855 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,138,824 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,483,733,000 after buying an additional 78,901 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $581,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,727 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% in the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,111,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $438,783,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,032 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $430,090,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $218.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Zelman & Associates reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE LOW traded up $0.65 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $232.35. 650,064 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,438,857. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $240.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $221.40. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.85 and a 1 year high of $262.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.15.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its 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 business had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

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

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.