Curbstone Financial Management Corp Acquires 252 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp raised its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 8.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,256 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 252 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $882,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of LOW. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,677,378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,674,372 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 20,275.6% in the 2nd quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,205,014 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,657,000 after acquiring an additional 1,199,100 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 1st quarter worth about $217,995,000. Pathstone Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $126,615,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $468,884,000 after acquiring an additional 493,180 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $270.30 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $249.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.96. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.85 and a 52-week high of $274.16. The company has a market cap of $154.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.56 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Lowe’s Companies news, 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 transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of Lowe’s Companies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,586,940.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LOW has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $263.54.

Lowe’s Companies Company 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.