Fiera Capital Corp Sells 89,255 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. by 11.2%, retaining 708,765 shares valued at approximately $165.3 million after selling 89,255 shares during the first quarter.
• Lowe's Companies reported $2.92 earnings per share for its latest quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates but faced a 2.0% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $1.15 to $1.20 per share, reflecting an annual dividend yield of 2.09%.

Fiera Capital Corp cut its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 708,765 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 89,255 shares during the quarter. Fiera Capital Corp owned 0.13% of Lowe's Companies worth $165,305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LOW. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,483,558,000 after purchasing an additional 259,766 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,952,341,000 after buying an additional 245,876 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 16.3% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 6.9% in 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 worth $1,242,793,000 after buying an additional 323,371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,369,942 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $831,702,000 after buying an additional 66,300 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LOW. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. DA Davidson dropped their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW traded down $2.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $227.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,047,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,644,854. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.38 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $222.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.85, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.90.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 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 period last year, the company 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 analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a boost from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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.