Forsta AP Fonden Reduces Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• Forsta AP Fonden has reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies by 1.2%, owning 167,700 shares valued at approximately $39.1 million after selling 2,000 shares in the first quarter.
• Lowe's reported $2.92 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing expectations, although revenue declined by 2% year-on-year to $20.93 billion.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.20, representing a 2.0% yield and a payout ratio of approximately 39.77%.

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 1.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 167,700 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,000 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $39,113,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.4% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,609,378 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $12,736,545,000 after purchasing an additional 230,359 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 6.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 5,111,747 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,192,213,000 after purchasing an additional 330,701 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 6.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,501,740 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $816,711,000 after purchasing an additional 42,676 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOW has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $270.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LOW traded up $5.13 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $244.98. The company had a trading volume of 1,531,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,649,157. The company has a market capitalization of $137.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.89. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $224.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $230.41. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.38 and a 1-year high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 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 analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. Lowe's Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were issued a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. This is a boost from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

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.