Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA Purchases 8,509 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA increased its position in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 346,895 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,509 shares during the period. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA owned approximately 0.06% of Lowe's Companies worth $73,833,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe's Companies by 85.4% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Monday, March 4th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Lowe's Companies in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird raised Lowe's Companies from an "average" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $250.00 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Gordon Haskett reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $252.52.

Lowe's Companies Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $0.99 on Monday, hitting $231.23. The company had a trading volume of 1,872,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,537,865. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $239.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $219.11. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.85 and a 1 year high of $262.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $132.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe's Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. Lowe's Companies's revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

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.

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