Waddell & Associates LLC Sells 79 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Waddell & Associates LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 957 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. Waddell & Associates LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $236,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LOW. Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 4,895 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,208,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 17,386 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,291,000 after acquiring an additional 4,280 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $627,000. APG Asset Management N.V. raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 414.5% in the 4th quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 421,521 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $100,465,000 after acquiring an additional 339,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bernard Wealth Management Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $1,145,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. BNP Paribas raised Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America reduced their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $278.74.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW stock opened at $210.36 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $117.74 billion, a PE ratio of 17.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $239.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.48. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $207.58 and a one year high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.29 billion. On average, research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.67%.

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.