Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System decreased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 15.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,142,258 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 203,455 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned about 0.20% of Lowe’s Companies worth $281,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Bank increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.4% during the third quarter. United Bank now owns 10,099 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,735,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Vinva Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,059 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,619,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 8.6% during the 3rd quarter. Icon Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,567 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,237,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% during the third quarter. Ironwood Investment Counsel LLC now owns 23,197 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,283,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the third quarter valued at $2,073,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho lowered 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. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $308.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $279.71.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $228.20 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $245.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.31. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $211.80 and a twelve month high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $127.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.29 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. Analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors 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 yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 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.