Sabal Trust CO Has $2.77 Million Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Sabal Trust CO raised its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 17.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,895 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,735 shares during the quarter. Sabal Trust CO's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $2,774,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,842,954,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 350.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $585,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,846,315 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 26,796.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $386,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,170 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $314,435,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of 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 period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This trade represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $2.43 during trading on Friday, reaching $223.66. The stock had a trading volume of 3,227,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,530,798. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.39 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $223.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $236.26.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for 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%. Lowe's Companies's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This is an increase from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.11%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on LOW. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $253.00 price target (down from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.