Aviance Capital Partners LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC lowered its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 40,240 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 263 shares during the period. Lowe’s Companies makes up about 1.4% of Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Aviance Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $10,899,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Edgestream Partners L.P. boosted its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 6,236 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,588,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 133.8% during the 1st quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 9,165 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,335,000 after acquiring an additional 5,245 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $11,208,000. InterOcean Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. InterOcean Capital Group LLC now owns 3,580 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Finally, Ossiam lifted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 93.6% during the 1st quarter. Ossiam now owns 461,688 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $117,606,000 after acquiring an additional 223,199 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $271.87 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $154.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $267.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.04. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $196.23 and a 1 year high of $287.01.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The home improvement retailer reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.96 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.93 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a negative return on equity of 47.07%. Lowe’s Companies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $4.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, February 5th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 22nd will be given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 22nd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $272.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $306.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total value of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares in the company, valued at $3,586,940.30. This trade represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total transaction of $1,684,262.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,334,678.06. This trade represents a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Lowe’s Companies

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.