Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Purchased by Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC

Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 6.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,903 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 789 shares during the period. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Paragon Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,880 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV grew its holdings 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 worth $23,748,000 after acquiring an additional 106,144 shares in the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 824.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 13,680 shares in the last quarter. Bamco Inc. NY grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 20,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on LOW. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $252.83.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW stock opened at $252.05 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $239.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $234.61. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.85 and a 12 month high of $262.49. The company has a market cap of $142.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion during 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%. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.56 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.95%.

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.