Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.

Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 21.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,287 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 4,058 shares during the quarter. Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $4,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 2,674,372 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 82,978 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,851,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $634,518,000 after purchasing an additional 52,859 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in 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 purchasing an additional 493,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 90,945 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on LOW shares. Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price objective on the stock. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.54.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $270.30 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.85 and a 1 year high of $274.16. The stock has a market cap of $154.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $236.96.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.56 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid 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 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 36.95%.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The stock was 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 owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.