Central Pacific Bank Trust Division Cuts Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lowered its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 6.6% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,338 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 799 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,483,558,000 after acquiring an additional 259,766 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,952,341,000 after acquiring an additional 245,876 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $1,842,954,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% in 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 acquiring an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,035,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,242,793,000 after acquiring an additional 323,371 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $224.92 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $224.30 and a 200 day moving average of $243.46. The company has a market capitalization of $125.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.00. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.39 and a 52 week high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.11%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on LOW. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas upgraded Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 target price on Lowe’s Companies and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $264.00 target price on Lowe’s Companies and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.12.

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.