Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Stock Position Cut by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 69.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,138 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 80,837 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $9,517,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 23.7% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 193,672 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $52,456,000 after purchasing an additional 37,162 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 8.8% in the third quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,689 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $457,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 40.2% during the third quarter. Prospera Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,283 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 368 shares in the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the third quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 275,438 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $73,575,000 after acquiring an additional 4,300 shares during the period. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 43.5% in the third quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 1,583 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $306.00 to $301.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.9 %

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $265.50 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.23 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.50. The company has a market capitalization of $150.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.