Mather Group LLC. Decreases Stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Mather Group LLC. cut its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,986 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 3,241 shares during the quarter. Mather Group LLC.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $18,685,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 107.9% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 447 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the last quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $235,000. XML Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 44.3% during the 4th quarter. XML Financial LLC now owns 3,999 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 1,227 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 17,428 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,879,000 after buying an additional 5,172 shares during the period. Finally, Greystone Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 35,807 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $7,969,000 after acquiring an additional 3,564 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on LOW shares. UBS Group increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. StockNews.com raised Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $263.54.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of LOW opened at $268.54 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $249.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $236.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a PEG ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $274.16.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a $1.15 dividend. This is a positive change from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were 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 owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Lowe’s Companies news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.