Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Raises Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 9.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,143 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,438 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $10,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% during the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $55,266,000 after buying an additional 20,181 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% in 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. Lincoln National Corp grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 11,128 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,835,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 12.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,889 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 159,742 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $43,290,000 after purchasing an additional 20,123 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents 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

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Gordon Haskett dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.42.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.1 %

LOW opened at $281.64 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $160.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $287.01. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $257.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $238.77.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its 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. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

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