Boomfish Wealth Group LLC Raises Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Boomfish Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 11,247 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies comprises 1.7% of Boomfish Wealth Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Boomfish Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,842,954,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 350.2% during the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 2,373,460 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $585,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,846,315 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 26,796.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $386,540,000 after acquiring an additional 1,651,170 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $314,435,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew 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 valued at $1,745,960,000 after acquiring an additional 993,833 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. DA Davidson decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $240.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $215.98 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $223.88 and its 200-day moving average price is $239.26. The company has a market capitalization of $121.04 billion, a PE ratio of 18.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.39 and a 1-year 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 for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.06 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a $1.20 dividend. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 39.77%.

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.