Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. Purchases 572 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 33,164 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 572 shares during the period. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $8,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $55,266,000 after buying an additional 20,181 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% during the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 5,470 shares during the period. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 215,651 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $58,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,322 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,637,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 14.4% during the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 159,742 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $43,290,000 after purchasing an additional 20,123 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This represents a 41.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on LOW shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, DA Davidson boosted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LOW opened at $264.63 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $268.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.73. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.23 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The company has a market capitalization of $150.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.37%.

Lowe’s Companies Company 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.