Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 72,140 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,138,462 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 72,140 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.20% of Lowe’s Companies worth $280,972,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,013,655 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $6,774,948,000 after purchasing an additional 460,851 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,733,461 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,169,041,000 after buying an additional 187,473 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,842,954,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,186,720 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,033,283,000 after acquiring an additional 385,994 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,459,064 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $853,697,000 after acquiring an additional 90,012 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 2.2 %

NYSE:LOW opened at $233.38 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $245.01 and its 200-day moving average is $257.24. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $211.80 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The stock has a market cap of $130.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12.

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

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be given a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on LOW shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Bank of America cut their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $308.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.71.

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.