Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Buys Shares of 4,247 Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,247 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $991,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $475,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971,996 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 350.2% in the fourth 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 first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $386,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,170 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1,048.5% during 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 buying an additional 675,318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note 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 note on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price target on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.68.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $233.99 on Tuesday. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.38 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.89. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $223.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $231.19.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued 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 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.06 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.77%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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.

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