Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 3.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 206,516 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 7,425 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $55,935,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% in the third quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 12,846 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $3,479,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 2.4% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. now owns 6,921 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,875,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 128.2% during the third quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 178 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 7.2% during the third quarter. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,256 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $611,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Finally, ERn Financial LLC purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the third quarter valued at $245,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $281.82. 417,722 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,450,630. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $254.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $237.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.10. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $181.85 and a one year high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.96 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $23.59 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be given a dividend of $1.15 per share. 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 dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 36.95%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on LOW shares. 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $238.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. 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. Melius Research started coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a report on Monday, September 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $290.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $268.42.

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.