Aldebaran Financial Inc. Acquires 100 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Aldebaran Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,865 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Lowe’s Companies comprises approximately 1.2% of Aldebaran Financial Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest position. Aldebaran Financial Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $852,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. Voisard Asset Management Group Inc. bought a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter worth about $35,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 93.3% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LOW has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Gordon Haskett reduced their price objective on shares of 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. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $260.00.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $270.85 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $246.83 and a 200-day moving average of $236.29. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.85 and a 52 week high of $271.27. The company has a market capitalization of $154.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.76, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 36.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.