Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 1,823 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 2.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,873 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,823 shares during the period. Lowe's Companies accounts for 2.4% of Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Allen Mooney & Barnes Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $14,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LOW. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 19,830 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,894,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $26,236,000 after acquiring an additional 13,092 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 26,329 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $6,498,000 after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 472,838 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $116,696,000 after acquiring an additional 7,187 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE LOW traded up $1.75 on Thursday, reaching $223.35. 2,485,859 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,522,683. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $223.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.87. The company has a market cap of $125.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.39 and a 12 month high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.06 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is 39.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho set a $280.00 price objective on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $253.00 price objective (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.12.

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.