Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. Sells 2,407 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,342 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 2,407 shares during the quarter. Lowe’s Companies comprises 2.0% of Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Weaver C. Barksdale & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $2,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Management Group Inc. boosted its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Private Management Group Inc. now owns 1,205 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,590 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $576,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Jag Capital Management LLC now owns 15,772 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,510,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 2,439 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $507,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Abundance Wealth Counselors lifted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Abundance Wealth Counselors now owns 6,671 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,485,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:LOW traded up $2.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $229.58. 1,666,192 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,475,893. The company has a fifty day moving average of $240.08 and a 200 day moving average of $220.52. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $262.49. The company has a market capitalization of $131.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.15.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.28 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid 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 1.92%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is presently 33.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $218.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Gordon Haskett reissued a “hold” rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.52.

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.