BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Grows Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 241,546 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $65,422,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bamco Inc. NY lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% during the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $55,266,000 after buying an additional 20,181 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% during the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 5,470 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 215,651 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $58,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,322 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 12.7% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $5,637,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 14.4% during the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 159,742 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $43,290,000 after acquiring an additional 20,123 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Gordon Haskett dropped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target 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. DA Davidson upped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the firm’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 owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 41.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE:LOW opened at $265.50 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $268.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $244.50. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.23 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The company has a market cap of $150.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.56 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.37%.

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.