Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Holdings Lifted by Hartline Investment Corp

Hartline Investment Corp raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 31,264 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies accounts for about 1.1% of Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Hartline Investment Corp’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $8,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,147,603,000 after acquiring an additional 82,978 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $578,256,000 after buying an additional 2,027,668 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the 1st 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 buying an additional 493,180 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $356,671,000 after buying an additional 90,945 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Gordon Haskett reduced 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. Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $323.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.84.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $269.84 on Wednesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $192.10 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The company has a market capitalization of $153.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $265.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $242.85.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 38.14%.

Lowe’s Companies 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.