Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Position Trimmed by Nisa Investment Advisors LLC

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 207,773 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 15,783 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $48,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in Lowe's Companies by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $29,223,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 14.0% during 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 buying an additional 13,092 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in 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 worth $6,498,000 after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 472,838 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $116,696,000 after acquiring an additional 7,187 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 993,833 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of Lowe's Companies stock traded up $0.68 on Wednesday, hitting $224.35. The company had a trading volume of 59,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,490,827. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.90. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.39 and a twelve month high of $287.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $224.06 and a 200-day moving average of $234.62.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 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 approximately $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies 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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