Obermeyer Wealth Partners Buys 3,418 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. $LOW

Obermeyer Wealth Partners increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,017 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,418 shares during the quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners’ holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $5,533,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.7% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,976,355 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $12,197,604,000 after buying an additional 366,977 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,911,775 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,527,176,000 after acquiring an additional 207,826 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 12,351,783 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,732,049,000 after buying an additional 42,190 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the second quarter worth $1,773,624,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,536,122 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $784,559,000 after purchasing an additional 34,382 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on LOW. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $295.00 to $290.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. HSBC dropped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $263.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $285.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.35.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $274.52 on Wednesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $274.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.96. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $242.42 and a 200-day moving average of $243.56.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.97 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 55.86% and a net margin of 8.05%.The firm had revenue of $20.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.89 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 21st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 21st. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 39.80%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marvin R. Ellison sold 18,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.17, for a total value of $4,701,060.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 231,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,341,500.31. This represents a 7.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

About Lowe’s Companies

Lowe’s Companies, Inc is a leading home improvement retailer that operates large-format stores and digital channels serving both do-it-yourself homeowners and professional contractors. The company offers a broad assortment of products including building materials, lumber, appliances, tools and hardware, plumbing and electrical supplies, paint, flooring, kitchen and bath fixtures, outdoor and garden products, and home decor. Lowe’s also provides a range of services such as installation, home improvement financing, tool and equipment rental, and contractor-focused sales programs.

Operations are centered on a nationwide brick-and-mortar store network supported by distribution centers and an e-commerce platform that enables online ordering, delivery and in-store pickup.