Avior Wealth Management LLC Lowers Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Avior Wealth Management LLC decreased its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.8% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,677 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 45 shares during the quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1,889.7% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,134,969 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $578,256,000 after buying an additional 2,027,668 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199,100 shares in the last quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 387.7% during the third quarter. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC now owns 811,374 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $219,761,000 after purchasing an additional 645,017 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $468,884,000 after purchasing an additional 493,180 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 170.5% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 735,633 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $162,178,000 after purchasing an additional 463,645 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. DA Davidson raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Gordon Haskett reduced their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of LOW opened at $263.03 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $268.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.36. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $196.23 and a 12-month high of $287.01. The firm has a market cap of $149.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 38.37%.

Insider Activity

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.