Bamco Inc. NY Trims Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Bamco Inc. NY decreased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 31.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 198,853 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 91,254 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY's holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $49,077,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 4.0% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 649,601 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $175,944,000 after buying an additional 24,812 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 288.6% during the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 19,028 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,696,000 after acquiring an additional 14,132 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 362,209 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $98,104,000 after purchasing an additional 4,435 shares during the last quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 19,830 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $4,894,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 14.0% during 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 during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on LOW shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe's Companies currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $278.04.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded down $2.31 during trading on Friday, hitting $222.17. The company had a trading volume of 2,053,748 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,494,708. The stock has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $225.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $247.19. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.39 and a one year high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.10. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.29 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is currently 37.67%.

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.