Ledyard National Bank Cuts Stock Holdings in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Ledyard National Bank cut its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,742 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 274 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $9,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in LOW. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Lowe’s Companies by 85.4% during the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 152 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on LOW. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $258.00 to $271.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $199.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Gordon Haskett reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Lowe’s Companies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of Lowe’s Companies stock traded up $1.07 on Monday, reaching $230.94. 1,527,242 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,495,473. The firm has a market cap of $132.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $181.85 and a 1-year high of $262.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $240.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.18.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a $1.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 23rd. This represents a $4.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.