Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Forte Capital LLC ADV

Forte Capital LLC ADV cut its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 4.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,516 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,287 shares during the quarter. Lowe's Companies comprises about 1.5% of Forte Capital LLC ADV's portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest position. Forte Capital LLC ADV's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $12,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $6,483,558,000 after acquiring an additional 259,766 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 2.1% during 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. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter worth $1,842,954,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 16.3% during 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. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $1,242,793,000 after buying an additional 323,371 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LOW. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 target price on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $253.00 target price (down from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" 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 given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $271.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of LOW traded up $0.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $219.14. The company had a trading volume of 2,399,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,496,913. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $223.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.40.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.20 dividend. This is a boost from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.11%.

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.