Machina Capital S.A.S. Reduces Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Machina Capital S.A.S. lowered its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 36.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,164 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,396 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 119.7% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $7,889,000 after acquiring an additional 17,413 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $266,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 80.8% in the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,739 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,224 shares during the period. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $152,000. Finally, Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 171.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 4,146 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,023,000 after purchasing an additional 2,616 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on LOW. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of 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. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $253.00 price target (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, DA Davidson cut their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $226.83. 2,053,515 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,516,350. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $223.04 and a 200-day moving average of $232.46. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.38 and a one year high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $127.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.90.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. Lowe's Companies's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.12%. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is presently 39.77%.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In other Lowe's Companies 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.