Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Purchased by J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 295.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 35,236 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 26,324 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $8,218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 1.2% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $29,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $26,236,000 after purchasing an additional 13,092 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 26,329 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $6,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $3,860,000 after purchasing an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

LOW stock traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $219.14. 2,399,060 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,495,500. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.39 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $223.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.12. The firm has a market cap of $122.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.16, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.90.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. 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 prior year, the company posted $3.06 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research 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 paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 38.11%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on LOW. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Truist Financial set a $264.00 price target on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson dropped their price target 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.12.

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.