Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $150.46 Million Stock Holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 645,095 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,510 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.12% of Lowe's Companies worth $150,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 60.0% during the 1st quarter. IFS Advisors LLC now owns 160 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity 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 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on LOW. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. KeyCorp upgraded Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. DA Davidson reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:LOW traded down $3.35 on Monday, hitting $224.96. 2,740,416 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,501,473. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.39 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $223.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $234.86. The company has a market cap of $126.08 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.90.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. This is a positive change 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%.

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.