Dover Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Dover Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 20.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,198 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,809 shares during the quarter. Lowe’s Companies accounts for about 2.1% of Dover Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Dover Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $1,602,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,890,000. Syon Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 23.3% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 7,129 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,587,000 after purchasing an additional 1,345 shares during the last quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.0% during the third quarter. Biondo Investment Advisors LLC now owns 60,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,669,000 after purchasing an additional 620 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,724 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $829,000 after buying an additional 584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legacy CG LLC boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 25.0% during the fourth quarter. Legacy CG LLC now owns 22,948 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,107,000 after buying an additional 4,583 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $203.00 to $229.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com downgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 16th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

LOW stock traded down $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $229.87. 2,001,196 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,110,073. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $239.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.94. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $181.85 and a 12 month high of $262.49. The company has a market capitalization of $131.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The firm had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

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.