Sterling Investment Counsel LLC Buys New Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Sterling Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,919 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $448,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LOW. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, IFS Advisors LLC boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price target on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $280.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of Lowe's Companies stock traded up $1.57 on Friday, reaching $212.40. 6,131,982 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,541,575. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $223.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.92. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.39 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. Lowe's Companies's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.26%. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is presently 38.11%.

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.