Franklin Resources Inc. Purchases 66,300 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,369,942 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,300 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.60% of Lowe’s Companies worth $831,702,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP now owns 4,101 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Powers Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 994 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,012 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,705,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, O Brien Greene & Co. Inc boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 2,896 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $715,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LOW. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $279.71.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW opened at $228.20 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $257.38. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.80 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $127.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.29 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. Equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 37.67%.

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.