North Star Asset Management Inc. Sells 397 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

North Star Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 93,505 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 397 shares during the quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $21,808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2,984.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,038,069 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $475,339,000 after acquiring an additional 1,971,996 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 350.2% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 1,846,315 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 26,796.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,657,332 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $386,540,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651,170 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in 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 worth $1,745,960,000 after purchasing an additional 993,833 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in 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 worth $172,527,000 after purchasing an additional 675,318 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was 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 owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LOW shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $253.00 target price (down previously from $269.00) on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $266.00 target price on Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Thursday, May 8th. One investment 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $271.12.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE LOW opened at $229.98 on Wednesday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.38 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $222.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $232.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.90.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.92 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.09 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.06 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be issued a $1.20 dividend. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 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.