Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 23.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,293 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,893 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $2,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $1,842,954,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 350.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $585,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846,315 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 26,796.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $386,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,170 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1,048.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 739,727 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $172,527,000 after purchasing an additional 675,318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on LOW. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Tuesday. KeyCorp raised shares of Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Lowe's Companies stock traded down $2.88 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $225.74. The company had a trading volume of 2,083,390 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,524,902. The firm has a market cap of $126.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.90. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $223.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $232.76. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.38 and a 1 year high of $287.01.

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

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.77%.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

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

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.