Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC

Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,448 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,053 shares during the quarter. Osborne Partners Capital Management LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $9,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in Lowe's Companies by 14.0% during the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $26,236,000 after purchasing an additional 13,092 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Lowe's Companies by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 26,329 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lowe's Companies by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 472,838 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $116,696,000 after purchasing an additional 7,187 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted 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 purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded Lowe's Companies to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $253.00 price target (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on 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 reiterated 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 dropped their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Lowe's Companies stock opened at $210.72 on Friday. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.39 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The company has a market capitalization of $118.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $223.18 and its 200 day moving average price is $238.45.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe's Companies 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 now directly owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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