Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Cuts Stock Position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,146,319 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 329,439 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 1.27% of Lowe's Companies worth $1,763,712,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,842,954,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $314,435,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 24,531.0% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,228,102 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $303,096,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223,116 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 60.1% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 2,603,305 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $642,730,000 after acquiring an additional 976,823 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 42,529.8% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 846,202 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $208,843,000 after purchasing an additional 844,217 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas raised Lowe's Companies to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price 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. Mizuho dropped their price objective on 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, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $280.35.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

NYSE LOW traded up $0.53 on Friday, hitting $223.05. The stock had a trading volume of 4,829,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,438,916. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $242.39 and a 200-day moving average of $256.46. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $211.80 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The company has a market capitalization of $124.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.29 billion. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.