Empower Advisory Group LLC Sells 2,499 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• Empower Advisory Group LLC sold 2,499 shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc., reducing its ownership by 2.1% to 118,586 shares worth approximately $27.7 million.
• Lowe's recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.15 to $1.20 per share, reflecting a healthy dividend yield of 2.0%.
• Equities analysts have a consensus target price of $270.68 for Lowe's shares, with 17 analysts rating it as a "buy."

Empower Advisory Group LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,586 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,499 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $27,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Lowe's Companies by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,035,630 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,242,793,000 after purchasing an additional 323,371 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 350.2% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $585,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846,315 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2,984.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $475,339,000 after buying an additional 1,971,996 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 33.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,815,301 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $448,016,000 after buying an additional 455,309 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on LOW. DA Davidson decreased their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $270.68.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 1.2%

Lowe's Companies stock traded up $2.81 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $241.37. 2,746,101 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,652,532. The stock has a market cap of $135.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.89. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.38 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The stock's fifty day moving average is $224.08 and its 200-day moving average is $231.12.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The business's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.06 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change 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 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate 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.