Argent Trust Co Buys 649 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Argent Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 35,968 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 649 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $8,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LOW. IFS Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Winch Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 56.4% during the 4th quarter. Winch Advisory Services LLC now owns 122 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on LOW shares. StockNews.com lowered Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho decreased 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $278.74.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE LOW traded down $3.93 on Thursday, reaching $219.27. The company had a trading volume of 243,963 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,617,497. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $206.38 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $122.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.29, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $237.70 and its 200-day moving average is $254.99.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.29 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. As a group, analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 37.67%.

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.