Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank cut its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,742 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 274 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $9,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 116,855 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,138,824 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,483,733,000 after buying an additional 78,901 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% during the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $581,592,000 after buying an additional 1,831,727 shares in the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 2,110,032 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth $430,090,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. Gordon Haskett reissued a “hold” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Mizuho started coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price target for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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 MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:LOW traded up $1.07 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $230.94. The company had a trading volume of 1,527,242 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,495,473. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $240.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $220.18. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $262.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.