Carson Advisory Inc. cut its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW – Get Rating) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,276 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 87 shares during the quarter. Carson Advisory Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 9.8% during the first quarter. Axiom Financial Strategies LLC now owns 1,381 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $275,000 after buying an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. United Bank lifted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 6.8% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,734 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,968,000 after buying an additional 617 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the first quarter valued at about $1,629,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 0.4% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 256,098 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $51,780,000 after buying an additional 920 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 74.6% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 295 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. 72.62% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LOW shares. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Lowe's Companies from $255.00 to $259.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 3rd. Loop Capital dropped their target price on Lowe's Companies from $210.00 to $200.00 in a report on Friday, December 9th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $235.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 17th. Credit Suisse Group started coverage on Lowe's Companies in a report on Monday, December 19th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $210.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Lowe's Companies from $230.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, November 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $229.12.

Insider Activity

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

LOW stock traded up $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $202.49. 2,907,889 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,610,774. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $170.12 and a twelve month high of $240.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.15.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 16th. The home improvement retailer reported $3.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.16. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 103.72% and a net margin of 6.97%. The company had revenue of $23.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.73 earnings per share. Lowe's Companies's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 13.73 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 25th will be given a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, January 24th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is 41.14%.

Lowe's Companies Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Lowe's Cos., Inc engages in the retail sale of home improvement products. The firm offers products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, home decorating and property maintenance. It also provides home improvement products in the following categories: appliances, bathroom, building supply, electrical, flooring, hardware, paint, kitchen, plumbing, lighting & fans, outdoor living, windows and doors.

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