Simmons Bank Has $4.99 Million Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Simmons Bank lowered its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,420 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 433 shares during the period. Simmons Bank’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $4,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the third 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 during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 78,901 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,211,131 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $714,637,000 after acquiring an additional 41,451 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $581,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,727 shares during the period. Finally, Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,111,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $438,783,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,032 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. StockNews.com cut shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $252.67.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE LOW traded up $0.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $231.62. The company had a trading volume of 912,508 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,435,661. The stock has a market cap of $132.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $221.68. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $181.85 and a fifty-two week high of $262.49.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.28 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be issued a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 33.43%.

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.