LPL Financial LLC Buys 65,910 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 879,527 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 65,910 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned about 0.16% of Lowe’s Companies worth $217,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Blueprint Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,440 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 576 shares in the last quarter. Somerset Group LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Somerset Group LLC now owns 4,106 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,013,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,485,000. Sfmg LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 5,387 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,329,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 519,327 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $128,166,000 after acquiring an additional 5,991 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.83.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $227.09 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $128.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day moving average of $247.99 and a 200 day moving average of $257.88. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $211.80 and a fifty-two week high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.10. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.29 billion. Analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.67%.

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.