Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Position Reduced by Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC reduced its holdings in Lowe’s by 1.3%, now owning approximately $104.8 million worth of shares, making it their largest holding.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their stakes in Lowe’s, with Pacer Advisors raising their stake by 2,984.6% during the 1st quarter.
• Lowe's announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.20 per share, reflecting a 2.09% yield, and has a payout ratio of 39.77%.

Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 449,236 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 5,800 shares during the quarter. Lowe's Companies makes up approximately 30.7% of Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC's portfolio, making the stock its largest holding. Ironsides Asset Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Lowe's Companies worth $104,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 2,984.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $585,770,000 after buying an additional 1,846,315 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of 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 worth $386,540,000 after buying an additional 1,651,170 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $172,527,000 after acquiring an additional 675,318 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe's Companies

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe's Companies 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on LOW shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. KeyCorp raised shares of Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of 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. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW stock opened at $229.98 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $128.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.38 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The business's 50 day moving average price is $222.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $232.14.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. 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 business posted $3.06 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. 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. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is presently 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.

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