Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Reduces Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA cut its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 337,500 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 10,214 shares during the quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA owned about 0.06% of Lowe's Companies worth $73,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Gen Wealth Partners Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 2,163 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,166 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $781,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,793 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cape Investment Advisory Inc. raised its position in Lowe's Companies by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 428 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the 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 now owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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. 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. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 24th. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded down $1.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $221.82. 1,856,779 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,651,144. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.38 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $124.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.92. The stock's fifty day moving average is $223.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.85.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. Lowe's Companies's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal 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 represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 is 38.11%.

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.