LVW Advisors LLC Grows Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

LVW Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 31.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,459 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,314 shares during the quarter. LVW Advisors LLC's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $1,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 1.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Lowe's Companies by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $2,952,341,000 after buying an additional 245,876 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,842,954,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Lowe's Companies by 16.3% in 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 buying an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 6.9% in 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 valued at $1,242,793,000 after buying an additional 323,371 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Lowe's Companies stock traded up $3.29 on Tuesday, reaching $228.81. 2,455,662 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,518,527. The firm's 50-day moving average is $224.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $242.45. The company has a market capitalization of $128.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.39 and a 52 week high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.06 EPS. Lowe's Companies's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the subject of several recent research reports. 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, DA Davidson dropped their price target on Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.12.

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.