Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Stake Reduced by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 8.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 175,820 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 15,456 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $14,454,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. First Personal Financial Services boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% in the first quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 8,067 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 21 shares during the last quarter. Hanson McClain Inc. boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 3.5% in the first quarter. Hanson McClain Inc. now owns 1,337 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Financial Architects Inc boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the first quarter. Financial Architects Inc now owns 4,313 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.9% in the first quarter. Hudson Valley Investment Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 8,550 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $703,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Carret Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 0.7% in the first quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 11,027 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.54% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) opened at 72.56 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.90. The stock has a market cap of $61.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75 and a beta of 1.08. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $64.87 and a 52 week high of $86.25.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 24th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.03. Lowe’s Companies had a return on equity of 56.78% and a net margin of 4.22%. The firm had revenue of $16.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post $4.62 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 26th will be paid a $0.41 dividend. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 24th. This represents a $1.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.26%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 44.03%.

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Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (The) dropped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $97.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Monday, April 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Thursday. Vetr lowered Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $83.11 price target on the stock. in a research note on Monday, May 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer Holdings, Inc. set a $100.00 price target on Lowe’s Companies and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 24th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Lowe’s Companies has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.39.

In related news, insider Richard D. Maltsbarger sold 11,672 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.20, for a total value of $936,094.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 37,716 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,024,823.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Company Profile

Lowe’s Companies, Inc (Lowe’s) is a home improvement retailer. The Company operates approximately 1,860 home improvement and hardware stores, representing approximately 200 million square feet of retail selling space. The Company operates approximately 1,800 stores located across over 50 states in the United States, including approximately 80 Orchard Supply Hardware (Orchard) stores in California and Oregon, as well as approximately 40 stores in Canada and over 10 stores in Mexico.

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