Humankind Investments LLC Sells 91 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Humankind Investments LLC trimmed its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,316 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 91 shares during the quarter. Humankind Investments LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,270,496 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,483,558,000 after acquiring an additional 259,766 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,979,337 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,952,341,000 after purchasing an additional 245,876 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,842,954,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,074,391 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,745,960,000 after buying an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,186,720 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,033,283,000 after buying an additional 385,994 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $222.17 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $225.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $247.03. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $206.39 and a one year high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a PE 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.10. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.29 billion. As a group, equities analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LOW. Bank of America lowered 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 note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Monday, May 5th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.04.

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.