NorthRock Partners LLC Sells 612 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

NorthRock Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,457 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 612 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 124.2% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 19,774 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,612,000 after buying an additional 10,953 shares in the last quarter. Vestcor Inc increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 12,071 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,815,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,131,000. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 78.9% in the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 52,793 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,313,000 after purchasing an additional 23,286 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 69.4% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 12,007 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,800,000 after purchasing an additional 4,921 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on LOW. Wall Street Zen raised Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $266.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $295.00 to $285.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $244.00 to $242.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Mizuho reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $280.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Friday, June 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $271.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Juliette Williams Pryor sold 1,130 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $227.50, for a total value of $257,075.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,898 shares in the company, valued at $7,256,795. This represents a 3.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.0%

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $229.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $222.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $232.12. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $206.38 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.04. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 49.12% and a net margin of 8.22%. The company had revenue of $20.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.09 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 23rd will be given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.77%.

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.