Focus Partners Wealth Grows Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Focus Partners Wealth increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 7.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 263,811 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,329 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $65,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 259,766 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,952,341,000 after buying an additional 245,876 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,842,954,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,745,960,000 after buying an additional 993,833 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,186,720 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,033,283,000 after acquiring an additional 385,994 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LOW has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. StockNews.com upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.04.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of LOW opened at $222.17 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $225.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $247.03. The company has a market capitalization of $124.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00.

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, 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 business had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.29 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date was 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.