Smithfield Trust Co Buys 50 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,018 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in LOW. Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 93.3% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 555.6% in the 3rd quarter. JNBA Financial Advisors now owns 118 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. MFA Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Tsfg LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 128.2% during the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 178 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In other 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 stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,334,678.06. The trade was a 41.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were 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. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Mizuho upped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.92.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $263.03 on Thursday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $196.23 and a 1-year high of $287.01. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $268.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.36. The company has a market cap of $149.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.10.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.56 EPS. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.82 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 38.37%.

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.