Cornerstone Advisors LLC Buys 300 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Cornerstone Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,300 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Cornerstone Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $7,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $578,256,000 after buying an additional 2,027,668 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% during the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199,100 shares during the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 387.7% in the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 811,374 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $219,761,000 after purchasing an additional 645,017 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $468,884,000 after purchasing an additional 493,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 170.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 735,633 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $162,178,000 after purchasing an additional 463,645 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 a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Mizuho raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW opened at $263.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $268.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $244.36. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.23 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $1.15 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.