Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Sells 3,765 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. decreased its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund 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 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its position in Lowe's Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $6,483,558,000 after purchasing an additional 259,766 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,952,341,000 after acquiring an additional 245,876 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,842,954,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 16.3% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 323,371 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LOW shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. DA Davidson dropped their target price on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of LOW stock traded up $1.71 on Wednesday, hitting $225.38. 2,339,254 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,499,732. The firm has a market capitalization of $126.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $224.06 and a 200 day moving average of $234.62. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.39 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. Lowe's Companies's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date 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 is presently 38.11%.

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.