Notis McConarty Edward Sells 50 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Notis McConarty Edward trimmed its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,240 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 50 shares during the period. Notis McConarty Edward’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,787,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Leeward Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 11.8% in the fourth quarter. Leeward Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $351,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 14,759 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,643,000 after buying an additional 2,289 shares during the period. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $368,000. DF Dent & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 21,622 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,336,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $18,383,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on LOW. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.35.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

NYSE LOW opened at $223.05 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $211.80 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The company has a fifty day moving average of $242.39 and a 200-day moving average of $256.47. The company has a market capitalization of $124.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 37.67%.

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.