Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. lowered its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 49.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,937 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 4,755 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $1,151,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 119.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $7,889,000 after buying an additional 17,413 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 72.7% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,429 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $846,000 after acquiring an additional 1,444 shares in the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $831,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,000. 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 that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $264.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 0.8%

Lowe's Companies stock traded up $1.71 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $225.38. The company had a trading volume of 2,339,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,499,444. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.39 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The company's fifty day moving average is $224.06 and its 200-day moving average is $234.62. The company has a market capitalization of $126.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.90.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. 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 38.11%.

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.