O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 29.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,160 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 45,860 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $27,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 4.0% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 649,601 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $175,944,000 after acquiring an additional 24,812 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 288.6% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 19,028 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $4,696,000 after buying an additional 14,132 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 362,209 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $98,104,000 after buying an additional 4,435 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 19,830 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $4,894,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the period. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 472,838 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $116,696,000 after acquiring an additional 7,187 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $301.00 to $304.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Truist Financial cut their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $308.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Lowe’s Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.71.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:LOW opened at $228.20 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $211.80 and a 12 month high of $287.01. The company has a market capitalization of $127.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $245.57 and its 200 day moving average is $257.31.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.83 by $0.10. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 47.55% and a net margin of 8.19%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.29 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 37.67%.

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.