Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by Ally Financial Inc.

Ally Financial Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 42.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,000 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 3,000 shares during the quarter. Ally Financial Inc.'s holdings in Lowe's Companies were worth $987,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $6,483,558,000 after buying an additional 259,766 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $2,952,341,000 after acquiring an additional 245,876 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $1,842,954,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Lowe's Companies by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,186,720 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $1,033,283,000 after acquiring an additional 385,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,459,064 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $853,697,000 after purchasing an additional 90,012 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. Mizuho dropped their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $295.00 to $258.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $278.74.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 2.1 %

LOW traded up $4.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $219.01. 2,166,819 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,469,826. The company has a market capitalization of $122.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.27, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $252.76. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.10. Lowe's Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.29 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe's Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe's Companies's payout ratio is 37.67%.

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.