Taylor Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Key Points

• Taylor Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Lowe's Companies by 98.8%, acquiring an additional 3,992 shares, bringing its total holdings to 8,032 shares worth approximately $1,873,000.
• Lowe's Companies reported $2.92 EPS for the most recent quarter, exceeding expectations while experiencing a 2.0% decline in revenue year-over-year.
• The company's recent quarterly dividend was increased to $1.20 per share, yielding 2.0% on an annualized basis.

Taylor Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 98.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,032 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,992 shares during the period. Lowe's Companies makes up 1.3% of Taylor Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Taylor Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $1,873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 125,299 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $29,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,470 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $26,236,000 after buying an additional 13,092 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 8.1% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 16,551 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $3,860,000 after buying an additional 1,242 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 16.3% in 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 buying an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in Lowe's Companies by 12.6% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 29,361 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $6,848,000 after purchasing an additional 3,295 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Mizuho reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $280.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe's Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $270.68.

Lowe's Companies Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of LOW stock traded down $1.11 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $240.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,602,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,697,837. The company has a 50 day moving average of $224.68 and a 200 day moving average of $230.41. The stock has a market cap of $134.53 billion, a PE ratio of 19.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.89. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.38 and a 12-month high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd were given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a boost from Lowe's Companies's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe's Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Lowe's Companies 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.