Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Stock Holdings Trimmed by First Interstate Bank

First Interstate Bank cut its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 7.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund 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 largest holding. First Interstate Bank's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $8,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in 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 valued at $29,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,470 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 14.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 11.0% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 1.5% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Lowe's Companies by 16.3% during 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 in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. DA Davidson reduced their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $253.00 target price (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their target price on 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were 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 $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $224.62. 91,542 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,491,013. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $224.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.62. The company has a market cap of $125.89 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.90. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.39 and a 12 month high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.06 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 38.11%.

About Lowe's Companies

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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