Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. Has $343,000 Stock Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. raised its position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 19.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,540 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C.’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $343,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Morgan Stanley raised its holdings in Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 10,930,693 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $2,271,836,000 after acquiring an additional 116,855 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,138,824 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $1,483,733,000 after purchasing an additional 78,901 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% in the 3rd quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $581,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,727 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 187,225.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 2,111,159 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $438,783,000 after purchasing an additional 2,110,032 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $430,090,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

Shares of LOW stock traded down $0.55 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $227.44. The company had a trading volume of 1,713,904 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,485,454. The company has a 50 day moving average of $240.11 and a 200 day moving average of $220.41. The firm has a market cap of $130.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 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.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.28 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be paid a $1.10 dividend. This represents a $4.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. DA Davidson reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $270.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Lowe’s Companies from $238.00 to $262.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $240.00 to $225.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies 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.