Stifel Financial Corp Sells 25,651 Shares of Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Stifel Financial Corp lowered its stake in Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - Free Report) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 667,730 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock after selling 25,651 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.12% of Lowe's Companies worth $164,808,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock valued at $6,483,558,000 after acquiring an additional 259,766 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe's Companies by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer's stock worth $2,952,341,000 after buying an additional 245,876 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe's Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,842,954,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Lowe's Companies by 10.2% in 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 buying an additional 385,994 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Lowe's Companies by 2.7% during 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. DA Davidson reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $270.00 target price on shares of Lowe's Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Mizuho cut their price objective on Lowe's Companies from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Lowe's Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. BNP Paribas raised Lowe's Companies to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe's Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $278.74.

Lowe's Companies Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $4.55 during trading on Thursday, hitting $222.31. 2,242,740 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,477,662. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $229.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $251.33. Lowe's Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.39 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $124.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Lowe's Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Lowe's Companies's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.67%.

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.