Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC cut its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 32,591 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 39 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $8,827,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.8% in the first quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,236 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 133.8% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 9,165 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after buying an additional 5,245 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the first quarter worth $11,208,000. InterOcean Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 5.8% in the 1st quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ossiam increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 93.6% during the 1st quarter. Ossiam now owns 461,688 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $117,606,000 after purchasing an additional 223,199 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Telsey Advisory Group upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $305.00 in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This represents a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LOW opened at $271.87 on Tuesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $196.23 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $267.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $244.04. The stock has a market cap of $154.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.54, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.56 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.14%.

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.