Woodline Partners LP Makes New Investment in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 34,068 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock, valued at approximately $8,408,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its position in Lowe's Companies by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 19,830 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,894,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 106,305 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $26,236,000 after purchasing an additional 13,092 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 26,329 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 472,838 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $116,696,000 after purchasing an additional 7,187 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Lowe's Companies by 16.3% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on LOW. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of 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. Bank of America cut their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Mizuho set a $280.00 target price on Lowe's Companies and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 1.9%

Shares of LOW traded up $4.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $225.28. The stock had a trading volume of 2,076,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,513,384. The company has a market cap of $126.09 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $206.39 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $224.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.06.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last released its 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 38.11%.

Lowe's Companies Company 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.