ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 1,300 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its holdings in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 13.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,457 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 1,300 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $1,972,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Gen Wealth Partners Inc grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 2,163 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Peachtree Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,286 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $317,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Second Line Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 4,793 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,183,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 7,509 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,853,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Dumont & Blake Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,570 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LOW has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Truist Financial set a $264.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $253.00 price target (down from $269.00) on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. One 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $271.12.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

NYSE LOW traded up $1.06 during trading on Thursday, hitting $228.00. 1,777,904 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,498,145. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $223.73 and a two-hundred day moving average of $235.45. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.39 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $127.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.90.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.06 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect 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. Shareholders 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 2.11%. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 38.11%.

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 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

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.