First Interstate Bank Cuts Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

First Interstate Bank decreased its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 7.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,118 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,775 shares during the quarter. Lowe's Companies makes up 0.5% of First Interstate Bank's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. First Interstate Bank's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $8,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 1.2% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $29,223,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $26,236,000 after purchasing an additional 13,092 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors raised 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 valued at $6,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position 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 valued at $116,696,000 after purchasing an additional 7,187 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in 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 valued at $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LOW. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price target on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Wall Street Zen raised Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

LOW stock traded down $3.79 during trading on Friday, hitting $224.12. The stock had a trading volume of 1,840,145 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,493,668. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $206.39 and a twelve month high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.57, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.90. The company's 50-day moving average price is $224.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.13.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a boost from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is currently 38.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies 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.