Tower Bridge Advisors Sells 1,394 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Tower Bridge Advisors cut its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 49,995 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,394 shares during the quarter. Lowe’s Companies comprises approximately 1.4% of Tower Bridge Advisors’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Tower Bridge Advisors’ holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $13,541,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 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 purchasing an additional 20,181 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 655.9% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 6,304 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,470 shares in the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the 3rd 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 period. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 12.7% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 14.4% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 159,742 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $43,290,000 after acquiring an additional 20,123 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on LOW. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. UBS Group raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Telsey Advisory Group raised Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $275.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Loop Capital raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.84.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock opened at $269.40 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.23 and a one year high of $287.01. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $267.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $243.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.34, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 38.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

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.