Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Purchases 19,976 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 307.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,482 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 19,976 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $7,173,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Community Financial Services Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Community Financial Services Group LLC now owns 18,075 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,896,000 after buying an additional 419 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 31,556 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $8,547,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $62,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 23.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 605 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $164,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 1.7 %

NYSE:LOW opened at $276.84 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $157.75 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $287.01. The company’s 50 day moving average is $258.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.03.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion for 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 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 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 36.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on LOW shares. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Loop Capital raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.60.

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.