Planning Capital Management Corp Sells 598 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Planning Capital Management Corp lowered its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 72.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 223 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 598 shares during the period. Planning Capital Management Corp’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $60,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banco Santander S.A. raised its position in Lowe’s Companies by 32.8% in the 1st quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 10,259 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,613,000 after purchasing an additional 2,531 shares during the period. M&G Plc purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $217,995,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its position in Lowe’s Companies by 100.8% during the first quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 48,776 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,425,000 after purchasing an additional 24,491 shares during the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,527 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $862,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the period. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter worth approximately $1,599,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on LOW. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Lowe’s Companies from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $230.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Loop Capital upgraded Lowe’s Companies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $250.00 to $300.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $275.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.84.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Down 0.7 %

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $270.35 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $266.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $243.06. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $196.23 and a 52 week high of $287.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.10.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced 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 negative return on equity of 47.07% and a net margin of 8.25%. The firm had revenue of $23.59 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.56 earnings per share. Lowe’s Companies’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.93 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, November 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were given a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This is a boost from Lowe’s Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 38.14%.

Insider Activity at Lowe’s Companies

In other Lowe’s Companies news, CAO Dan Clayton Griggs, Jr. sold 6,769 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 9,383 shares in the company, valued at $2,334,678.06. This represents a 41.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Margrethe R. Vagell sold 5,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $271.45, for a total transaction of $1,555,408.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,214 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,586,940.30. This represents a 30.25 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.