LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. Takes Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,323 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $292,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings 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 worth $13,677,378,000 after buying an additional 2,674,372 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth $1,638,746,000. Schroder Investment Management Group increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,851,127 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $634,518,000 after buying an additional 52,859 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 36.6% during the first 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 buying an additional 493,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,516,347 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $337,463,000 after buying an additional 194,070 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 1.1 %

LOW stock opened at $247.43 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $140.36 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $237.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $234.40. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.85 and a 52 week high of $262.49.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 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%. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.56 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.15 per share. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 36.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on LOW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of 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 reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.83.

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.