22,375 Shares in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) Acquired by John G Ullman & Associates Inc.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 22,375 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,980,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zhang Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 14.2% during the fourth quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 7,591 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,689,000 after purchasing an additional 943 shares in the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 28,007 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $6,233,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Davidson Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Davidson Trust Co. now owns 2,717 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $605,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. HTLF Bank acquired a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth $5,748,000. Finally, Lafayette Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Lafayette Investments Inc. now owns 44,224 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $9,842,000 after purchasing an additional 978 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Gordon Haskett reissued a “hold” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. StockNews.com lowered shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Zelman & Associates reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.6 %

LOW traded up $1.45 on Friday, reaching $230.24. The company had a trading volume of 2,109,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,538,251. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $181.85 and a 1 year high of $262.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $131.74 billion, a PE ratio of 17.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $239.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.46.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The business had revenue of $18.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

Lowe’s Companies 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.