First County Bank CT Cuts Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

First County Bank CT reduced its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 16.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,225 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 428 shares during the quarter. First County Bank CT’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $603,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bamco Inc. NY grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.3% in the first quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 216,958 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $55,266,000 after purchasing an additional 20,181 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its holdings in 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 worth $1,606,000 after buying an additional 5,470 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 215,651 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $58,409,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares during the last quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 12.7% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 25,569 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $5,637,000 after acquiring an additional 2,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB lifted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 represents a 41.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % 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.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on LOW. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $306.00 to $301.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $265.50 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $244.50. The company has a market cap of $150.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $196.23 and a one year 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $4.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.82 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. 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 38.37%.

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.