First Affirmative Financial Network Decreases Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

First Affirmative Financial Network cut its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 19.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,517 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 617 shares during the period. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP now owns 4,101 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,012,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Gen Wealth Partners Inc now owns 2,163 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $534,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Cordatus Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,012 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,705,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc now owns 2,896 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, FFT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. FFT Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,377 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on LOW. KeyCorp upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price target on Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, DA Davidson decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. One research 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 MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE:LOW opened at $225.35 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $126.29 billion, a PE ratio of 18.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $223.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.72. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $206.39 and a 12-month high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The firm 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.06 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 39.77%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total transaction of $257,075.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 31,898 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Lowe’s Companies 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.