Greenwood Gearhart Inc. Sells 1,848 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Greenwood Gearhart Inc. cut its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 33.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,630 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 1,848 shares during the period. Greenwood Gearhart Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on LOW. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.12.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $0.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $225.99. The stock had a trading volume of 515,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,638,885. The firm's fifty day moving average is $223.18 and its 200 day moving average is $232.60. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $126.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.90.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The company 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.