Alta Wealth Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Alta Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,265 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 139 shares during the quarter. Alta Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,426,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,677,378,000 after acquiring an additional 2,674,372 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,147,603,000 after purchasing an additional 82,978 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $468,884,000 after purchasing an additional 493,180 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $356,671,000 after purchasing an additional 90,945 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 11.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,499,015 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $330,473,000 after buying an additional 149,649 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This represents a 0.00 % 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. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LOW. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Gordon Haskett lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $268.42.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE LOW opened at $281.64 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $181.85 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $257.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 36.95%.

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.