Bath Savings Trust Co Reduces Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Bath Savings Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 27.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 799 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. Bath Savings Trust Co’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LOW. Atwood & Palmer Inc. lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 2.2% in the third quarter. Atwood & Palmer Inc. now owns 70,445 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $19,080,000 after buying an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Foster Group Inc. lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 5.0% in the third quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 1,715 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $464,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.3% in the third quarter. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc now owns 20,852 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,648,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Kwmg LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 19.0% in the third quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 2,082 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $564,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Value Partners Investments Inc. lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 8.1% during the third quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 11,325 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,067,000 after purchasing an additional 846 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $273.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.85 and a 52 week high of $274.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $250.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $237.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm 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 fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.95%.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LOW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Melius Research began coverage on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price target on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.54.

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.