Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Acquired by Alps Advisors Inc.

Alps Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 47,881 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 1,179 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $11,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Lowe's Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on LOW. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp upgraded Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe's Companies

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of Lowe's Companies stock traded down $3.79 on Friday, hitting $224.12. 1,840,145 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,496,417. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $125.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's 50-day moving average is $224.20 and its 200 day moving average is $234.42.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The firm's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.11%.

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.