Smithfield Trust Co Purchases 50 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Smithfield Trust Co increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 8,018 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JNBA Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 555.6% in the third quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 118 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 93.3% in the 2nd quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 128.2% during the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 178 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In related news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This represents a 41.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of LOW opened at $263.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $268.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $244.36. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $196.23 and a 12 month high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The firm 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 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.56 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 38.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $306.00 to $301.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.92.

About Lowe’s Companies

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.