Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Purchases New Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE purchased a new stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 3,958 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $923,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 119.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 31,965 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $7,889,000 after buying an additional 17,413 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 31.6% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,078 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. Gladstone Institutional Advisory LLC now owns 4,779 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,179,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 18.5% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 2,075 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $512,000 after buying an additional 324 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 79.9% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 95,328 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $23,544,000 after buying an additional 42,339 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOW has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. DA Davidson lowered their target price 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, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction on 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 now directly owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

LOW traded down $6.51 on Friday, reaching $216.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,425,924 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,524,115. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $223.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.51. The company has a market cap of $121.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.77%.

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.