Cetera Trust Company N.A Lowers Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Cetera Trust Company N.A decreased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 33.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,938 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 1,468 shares during the quarter. Cetera Trust Company N.A’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,693,630 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $13,677,378,000 after acquiring an additional 2,674,372 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,205,491 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,147,603,000 after acquiring an additional 82,978 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,840,704 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $468,884,000 after acquiring an additional 493,180 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,617,849 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $356,671,000 after acquiring an additional 90,945 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 11.1% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,499,015 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $330,473,000 after acquiring an additional 149,649 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 2.2 %

Lowe’s Companies stock traded down $6.10 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $270.74. 1,158,214 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,444,218. The firm has a market cap of $154.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $258.29 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $239.03. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LOW shares. 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. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $225.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $230.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $270.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.