Berkeley Inc Decreases Stock Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Berkeley Inc reduced its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 40.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 52,303 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 35,617 shares during the period. Lowe's Companies accounts for approximately 6.7% of Berkeley Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Berkeley Inc's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $12,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV raised its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 19,830 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,894,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $26,236,000 after acquiring an additional 13,092 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 26,329 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,498,000 after acquiring an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 472,838 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $116,696,000 after acquiring an additional 7,187 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 16.3% in 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 purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $224.72. The company had a trading volume of 2,213,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,514,542. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.39 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. The firm's fifty day moving average is $224.46 and its 200 day moving average is $243.80.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 38.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.