Apella Capital LLC Acquires New Shares in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Apella Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,028 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $254,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,010,730 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,045,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399,897 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 82,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings 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 valued at $912,508,000 after acquiring an additional 39,953 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Quonta D. Vance sold 7,198 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.37, for a total transaction of $1,974,915.26. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,703 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,582,802.11. This trade represents a 30.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LOW. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $230.00 to $305.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Melius Research started coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.85.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

LOW stock opened at $256.73 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $260.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $253.93. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $209.55 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The company has a market capitalization of $144.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.11.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.37%.

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.