Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Sells 91 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 981 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,930,693 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,271,836,000 after acquiring an additional 116,855 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,138,824 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,483,733,000 after acquiring an additional 78,901 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,211,131 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $714,637,000 after buying an additional 41,451 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $581,592,000 after buying an additional 1,831,727 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,111,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $438,783,000 after buying an additional 2,110,032 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LOW. Mizuho began coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Gordon Haskett reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.67.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.3 %

LOW stock traded up $0.61 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $232.07. 1,674,512 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,444,792. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.85 and a fifty-two week high of $262.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $240.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $221.68. The stock has a market cap of $132.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.15.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 presently 33.43%.

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.