QRG Capital Management Inc. Cuts Stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 1.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 150,745 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 2,060 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $35,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,483,558,000 after acquiring an additional 259,766 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,952,341,000 after purchasing an additional 245,876 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $1,842,954,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake 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 worth $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 6.9% during 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. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Friday. KeyCorp raised shares of Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company 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 MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $271.12.

Insider Activity at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 0.6%

Lowe's Companies stock traded down $1.29 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $215.98. 2,391,844 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,525,739. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $223.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.65. The company has a market cap of $121.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.39 and a one year high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. Lowe's Companies's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is presently 39.77%.

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.