Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by First Foundation Advisors

Key Points

• First Foundation Advisors reduced its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. by 11.1%, selling 5,405 shares and holding 43,362 shares valued at approximately $10.1 million.
• Lowe's reported earnings of $2.92 per share, exceeding analyst expectations, despite a 2% year-over-year decline in revenue, totaling $20.93 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase to $1.20 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.09%, effective August 6th for investors of record on July 23rd.

First Foundation Advisors cut its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 11.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 43,362 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 5,405 shares during the period. First Foundation Advisors' holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $10,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2,984.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $475,339,000 after buying an additional 1,971,996 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 350.2% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $585,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846,315 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 26,796.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $386,540,000 after buying an additional 1,651,170 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 993,833 shares during 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 purchasing an additional 675,318 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE LOW traded down $2.55 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $227.49. 2,047,133 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,378,462. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $222.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $232.12. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.38 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The company has a market capitalization of $127.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.90.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The firm's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. This is a boost from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.