New Hampshire Trust Boosts Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

New Hampshire Trust lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,243 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the quarter. New Hampshire Trust’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norway Savings Bank boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 6,653 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,502,000 after acquiring an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Monterey Private Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 2nd quarter worth about $214,000. Brookstone Capital Management lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 13.9% in the 2nd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 26,606 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,905,000 after buying an additional 3,241 shares in the last quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,224 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 62,639 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $14,138,000 after buying an additional 3,802 shares in the last quarter. 71.88% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 4.7 %

Lowe’s Companies stock traded down $10.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $220.02. The company had a trading volume of 9,188,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,830,432. The stock has a market cap of $126.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.09. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $227.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $213.55. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $176.50 and a 1-year high of $237.21.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 22nd. The home improvement retailer reported $4.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.49 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $24.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $24.97 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 6.48% and a negative return on equity of 58.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.67 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 13.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 25th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 24th. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 43.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on LOW shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective (up previously from $225.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, August 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $252.00 to $282.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $237.48.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Janice Dupre sold 5,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.28, for a total value of $1,244,286.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,600,676.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Janice Dupre sold 5,380 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $231.28, for a total value of $1,244,286.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 24,216 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,600,676.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Joseph Michael Mcfarland sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.53, for a total transaction of $1,001,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 46,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,368,562.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.