Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. Sells 204 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 10.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,684 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 204 shares during the quarter. Wilkins Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of LOW. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,010,730 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,045,006,000 after buying an additional 2,399,897 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at about $314,435,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 24,531.0% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,228,102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $303,096,000 after buying an additional 1,223,116 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 60.1% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 2,603,305 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $642,730,000 after buying an additional 976,823 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 42,529.8% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 846,202 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $208,843,000 after buying an additional 844,217 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LOW has been the topic of several research reports. BNP Paribas raised shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped 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 report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.83.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE LOW opened at $225.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $127.31 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $211.80 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $248.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.07.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.29 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. On average, equities analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

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.