Brighton Jones LLC Increases Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,266 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 75 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $4,288,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 85.4% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth $47,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock traded down $3.02 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $227.92. The company had a trading volume of 2,435,258 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,494,747. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $262.49. The stock has a market cap of $130.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.18.

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

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Gordon Haskett reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $245.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.52.

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.