Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Decreases Stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lowered its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 7.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,553,156 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 286,470 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 0.63% of Lowe's Companies worth $876,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. IFS Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe's Companies by 56.4% during the fourth quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 122 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in shares of Lowe's Companies during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Lowe's Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on LOW. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $270.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on 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. Mizuho lowered their target price 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 upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Lowe's Companies from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $266.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $278.21.

Lowe's Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded down $1.10 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $220.95. 1,493,675 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,477,556. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $206.39 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $229.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $250.79. The firm has a market cap of $123.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07.

Lowe's Companies (NYSE:LOW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.29 billion. On average, research analysts forecast that Lowe's Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe's Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.67%.

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.