Edgestream Partners L.P. Trims Stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Edgestream Partners L.P. trimmed its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 59.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,297 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 1,928 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its position in Lowe's Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $29,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 13,092 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth $882,000. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. KeyCorp upgraded 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $219.14 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $233.02. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.39 and a fifty-two week 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 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.06 earnings per share. Lowe's Companies's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. 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 yield of 2.19%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is 39.77%.

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.

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