O Brien Greene & Co. Inc Raises Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

O Brien Greene & Co. Inc raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 23.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,544 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 677 shares during the quarter. O Brien Greene & Co. Inc’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LOW. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 24.8% during the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,387 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $531,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares during the period. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,441 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. TrinityPoint Wealth LLC now owns 6,887 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,533,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 36.4% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,060 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $458,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the period. Finally, Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $256.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $146.31 billion, a PE ratio of 20.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $241.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $234.94. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $181.85 and a one year high of $262.49.

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

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is an increase from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is 36.95%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.82, for a total value of $1,684,262.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on LOW. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com raised shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Gordon Haskett lowered their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $245.00 to $240.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $252.83.

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.