Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Position Increased by Trajan Wealth LLC

Key Points

• Trajan Wealth LLC increased its stake in Lowe's by 10.7%, now owning 21,315 shares valued at approximately $4.97 million.
• Several institutional investors raised their positions in Lowe's stock, with Northern Trust Corp having the largest stake increase of 16.3% during the previous quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, up from the previous $1.15, reflecting a yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 39.77%.

Trajan Wealth LLC increased its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 10.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,315 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,066 shares during the period. Trajan Wealth LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $4,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LOW. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in Lowe's Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $29,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake 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 worth $26,236,000 after buying an additional 13,092 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,361 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,848,000 after buying an additional 3,295 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on LOW shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. 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. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, 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. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $270.68.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of LOW stock opened at $240.04 on Tuesday. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.38 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The company has a market capitalization of $134.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.89. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $224.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.41.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend 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.

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