Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc reduced its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 14.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,591 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,826 shares during the quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $3,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 119.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $7,889,000 after purchasing an additional 17,413 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Austin Private Wealth LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $101,000. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its position in Lowe's Companies by 13.7% during the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 2,962 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $731,000 after buying an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price target on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen raised Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of LOW traded up $0.67 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $229.06. 510,251 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,510,686. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $224.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $242.26. The company has a market cap of $128.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.39 and a 1-year high of $287.01.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.06 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is presently 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.