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

Kingfisher Capital LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.8% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,725 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 301 shares during the period. Kingfisher Capital LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $3,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 824.6% in the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 15,339 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,414,000 after buying an additional 13,680 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $55,266,000 after purchasing an additional 20,181 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% in the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after purchasing an additional 5,470 shares during the period. 17 Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,368,000. Finally, Gerber LLC purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $235,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LOW shares. Oppenheimer raised Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.13.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of LOW opened at $266.26 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $244.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $235.64. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $268.09.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.56 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.95%.

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.