Mather Group LLC. Has $2.66 Million Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Mather Group LLC. lessened its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 82.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,402 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 52,696 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $2,659,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $29,223,000 after buying an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $26,236,000 after acquiring an additional 13,092 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors boosted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,615 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.5% in 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 increased 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 worth $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LOW. Mizuho restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Friday, June 13th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 0.7%

Lowe's Companies stock traded down $1.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $226.96. 2,174,320 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,495,439. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.39 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $127.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $223.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $235.51.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.06 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.11%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 38.11%.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.