Swiss National Bank Sells 10,100 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank has reduced its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. by 0.6% to own approximately 1,592,500 shares, valued at $371.42 million.
• Lowe's reported $2.92 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates, but experienced a 2.0% decline in revenue compared to the same period last year.
• The company announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $1.20 per share, reflecting a positive shift from its previous dividend of $1.15.

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,592,500 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 10,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Lowe's Companies worth $371,419,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 2,984.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $475,339,000 after buying an additional 1,971,996 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 350.2% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $585,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846,315 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 26,796.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $386,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,170 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in 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 valued at $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 1,048.5% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 739,727 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $172,527,000 after acquiring an additional 675,318 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of Lowe's Companies stock traded up $2.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $241.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,746,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,652,532. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.38 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The firm's 50-day moving average is $224.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $230.78. The company has a market cap of $135.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.00, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.89.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The business had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is 39.77%.

Insider Transactions at Lowe's Companies

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe's Companies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $253.00 to $242.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Lowe's Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Mizuho reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Friday, June 13th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $270.68.

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.