Planning Capital Management Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Planning Capital Management Corp lowered its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 72.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 223 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 598 shares during the quarter. Planning Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $60,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,147,603,000 after purchasing an additional 82,978 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $578,256,000 after buying an additional 2,027,668 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $468,884,000 after acquiring an additional 493,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $356,671,000 after acquiring an additional 90,945 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.84.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This represents a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $270.35 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.23 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $153.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $266.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $243.06.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $4.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.70%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.14%.

About Lowe’s Companies

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.