Patten Group Inc. Sells 570 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Patten Group Inc. lessened its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,092 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 570 shares during the quarter. Patten Group Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,192,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% in 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 last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after purchasing an additional 1,199,100 shares during the period. M&G Plc acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 1st quarter valued at $217,995,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth $126,615,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $468,884,000 after buying an additional 493,180 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

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 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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.4 %

NYSE LOW opened at $277.12 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $250.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $237.11. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $278.10. The company has a market capitalization of $157.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for 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%. The firm’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.56 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 36.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on LOW. Gordon Haskett lowered their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.63.

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.