HHM Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• HHM Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. by 51.1%, holding 2,656 shares valued at approximately $619,000 as of the latest SEC filing.
• Lowe's has recently increased its quarterly dividend from $1.15 to $1.20 per share, representing a 2.11% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 39.77%.
• Analysts have mixed views on Lowe's stock, with ratings varying from "sell" to "buy," and a consensus target price of $271.12.

HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 51.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,656 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,770 shares during the quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $619,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 1,971,996 shares during the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 350.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $585,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846,315 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 26,796.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $386,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,170 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 1,048.5% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 739,727 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $172,527,000 after purchasing an additional 675,318 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company's 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $270.68.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW traded up $2.76 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $226.33. 3,400,746 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,422,152. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.38 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $126.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $223.03 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $231.74.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. On average, research 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

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.