Wendell David Associates Inc. Sells 200 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Wendell David Associates Inc. cut its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 23,076 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $5,136,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. Hamilton Capital LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% in the second quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 884 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $200,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Abundance Wealth Counselors increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 6,671 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Strategy Asset Managers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 3.4% in the second quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 1,553 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Aprio Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 4.3% in the third quarter. Aprio Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,244 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on LOW. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 16th. Robert W. Baird raised Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 13th. Mizuho began coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.60.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $249.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $142.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $233.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $216.23. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-year high of $262.49.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.43%.

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.