Curbstone Financial Management Corp Buys 330 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,722 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $868,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 60.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have commented on LOW. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE LOW opened at $224.98 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $126.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.39 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $223.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $241.00.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 39.77%.

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.