Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. Purchases 1,570 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,751 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $13,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,930,693 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,271,836,000 after purchasing an additional 116,855 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,138,824 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,483,733,000 after buying an additional 78,901 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $581,592,000 after acquiring an additional 1,831,727 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% during the third quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,111,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $438,783,000 after buying an additional 2,110,032 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $430,090,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. DA Davidson reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $270.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Gordon Haskett reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $245.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW traded up $2.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $232.16. 1,834,659 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,468,437. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $181.85 and a 52-week high of $262.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.64, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $240.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $220.52.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The firm’s revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.28 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 1.90%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.