Hager Investment Management Services LLC Increases Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Hager Investment Management Services LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 5.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,835 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,842,954,000. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 350.2% in 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 buying an additional 1,846,315 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 26,796.0% in 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 buying an additional 1,651,170 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 16.3% in 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 buying an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1,048.5% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 739,727 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $172,527,000 after buying an additional 675,318 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on LOW. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $253.00 price objective (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $300.00 to $263.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.7%

LOW opened at $222.59 on Tuesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $206.39 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of $224.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.85. The company has a market cap of $124.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.90.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.22% and a negative return on equity of 49.12%. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.06 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 39.77%.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were 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 directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. The trade was a 3.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Company 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.