Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Acquired by Diversified Trust Co

Diversified Trust Co increased its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 18.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,723 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,331 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $12,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. FMR LLC raised its stake in Lowe's Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $6,483,558,000 after buying an additional 259,766 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $2,952,341,000 after acquiring an additional 245,876 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $1,842,954,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,035,630 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,242,793,000 after purchasing an additional 323,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on LOW shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. 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 report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:LOW opened at $221.47 on Friday. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.39 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $223.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.58. The firm has a market cap of $124.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.35, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.92.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.17%. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 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 stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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