Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lessened its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 9.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,997 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 3,765 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $8,396,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Gen Wealth Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 2,163 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $534,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,793 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,183,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,570 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sollinda Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Sollinda Capital Management LLC now owns 6,703 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,654,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale 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 company insiders.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded down $3.79 on Friday, reaching $224.12. The company had a trading volume of 1,838,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,498,452. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $224.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $234.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.90.

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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.06 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. This is an increase 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 39.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LOW. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price target on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on 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. Truist Financial set a $264.00 price target on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $253.00 price target (down from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $271.12.

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.