Wedmont Private Capital Acquires 1,693 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Wedmont Private Capital raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 25.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,259 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,693 shares during the quarter. Wedmont Private Capital’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,047,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 26,010,730 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,045,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,399,897 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,013,655 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,774,948,000 after buying an additional 460,851 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,733,461 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,169,041,000 after acquiring an additional 187,473 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,147,603,000 after buying an additional 82,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,369,052 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $912,508,000 after acquiring an additional 39,953 shares in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOW has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $280.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Quonta D. Vance sold 7,198 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.37, for a total transaction of $1,974,915.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,703 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,582,802.11. The trade was a 30.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of LOW traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $248.97. 1,226,716 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,154,583. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $209.55 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $261.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.51. The stock has a market cap of $140.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 1.11.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 22nd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.37%.

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.