Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Decreases Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. reduced its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 33,870 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 153 shares during the quarter. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $9,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% in the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $55,266,000 after acquiring an additional 20,181 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,470 shares in the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 11,128 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,835,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 12.7% in the 2nd quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,637,000 after purchasing an additional 2,889 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 14.4% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 159,742 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $43,290,000 after buying an additional 20,123 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock opened at $267.64 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $260.28 and a 200 day moving average of $239.69. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a $1.15 dividend. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 38.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $270.60.

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.