Sanford C. Bernstein Has Lowered Expectations for Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) Stock Price

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) had its price objective reduced by Sanford C. Bernstein from $306.00 to $301.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the home improvement retailer’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock opened at $264.68 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $268.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $244.83. Lowe’s Companies has a 1-year low of $196.23 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $150.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.37%.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 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 approximately $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,010,730 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $7,045,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399,897 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,013,655 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,774,948,000 after buying an additional 460,851 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,733,461 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,169,041,000 after buying an additional 187,473 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,147,603,000 after buying an additional 82,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,369,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $912,508,000 after acquiring an additional 39,953 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

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.