Bridgewater Advisors Inc. Invests $667,000 in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Bridgewater Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,988 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $667,000.

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

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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on LOW. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of LOW traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $218.15. The stock had a trading volume of 715,395 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,490,410. The company has a market capitalization of $122.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.90. The company's 50-day moving average is $223.67 and its 200 day moving average is $233.40. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 38.11%.

Lowe's Companies Company 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.