The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 139,597 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company decreased its position in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 9.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,319,682 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 139,597 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.23% of Lowe's Companies worth $325,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 4.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 24,812 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its stake in Lowe's Companies by 288.6% in the 4th quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 19,028 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $4,696,000 after buying an additional 14,132 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 362,209 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $98,104,000 after acquiring an additional 4,435 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $4,894,000 after acquiring an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 26,329 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $6,498,000 after purchasing an additional 2,615 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. Truist Financial dropped their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Lowe's Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Lowe's Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Lowe's Companies to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.21.

Lowe's Companies Stock Performance

LOW traded up $4.86 on Friday, hitting $227.18. 2,318,741 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,484,168. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $227.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $249.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $127.15 billion, a PE ratio of 18.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $206.39 and a 12 month high of $287.01.

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

Lowe's Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is presently 37.67%.

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.