Camden National Bank Sells 50 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Camden National Bank lowered its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,439 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Camden National Bank’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $390,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the first quarter valued at $2,769,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 65,131 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $16,591,000 after acquiring an additional 3,963 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 30,384 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,574,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the first 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 purchasing an additional 493,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $55,266,000 after purchasing an additional 20,181 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LOW opened at $264.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $150.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $196.23 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $268.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.73.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $4.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $1.15 dividend. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 38.37%.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Gordon Haskett decreased their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.92.

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.