Hancock Whitney Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Hancock Whitney Corp lowered its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,838 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 127 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,147,603,000 after purchasing an additional 82,978 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,369,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $912,508,000 after purchasing an additional 39,953 shares during the last quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,343,365 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $634,700,000 after purchasing an additional 36,054 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $578,256,000 after purchasing an additional 2,027,668 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $356,671,000 after purchasing an additional 90,945 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LOW shares. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price 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, November 20th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 41.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW opened at $274.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $269.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $245.47. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.32 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $155.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 38.37%.

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.