Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 6,579 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 22.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,397 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,579 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $9,017,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 18,786.5% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 106,709 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $23,748,000 after purchasing an additional 106,144 shares during the last quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 215,442 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $47,947,000 after purchasing an additional 541 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 824.6% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,339 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,414,000 after purchasing an additional 13,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 45,072 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $10,031,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $243.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Zelman & Associates reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $271.00 to $265.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $250.04.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded up $3.77 on Wednesday, hitting $244.74. 2,300,908 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,537,995. The company has a 50 day moving average of $223.17 and a 200 day moving average of $228.31. The stock has a market cap of $139.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.08. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.85 and a 12 month high of $262.49.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.12. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 48.52% and a net margin of 8.46%. The company had revenue of $21.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 24th. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.34%.

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.