Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC Has $6.23 Million Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,007 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $6,233,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 11,690,606 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,329,237,000 after purchasing an additional 2,050,089 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,461,267,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.1% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,138,824 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,483,733,000 after purchasing an additional 78,901 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 107,710.7% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,080,039 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,012,147,000 after purchasing an additional 5,075,327 shares during the period. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 189.5% during the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,798,268 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $581,592,000 after purchasing an additional 1,831,727 shares during the period. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $215.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Gordon Haskett reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $245.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $199.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $280.00 to $275.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $252.52.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LOW traded up $0.99 on Friday, hitting $229.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,027,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,531,791. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $181.85 and a twelve month high of $262.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $239.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $218.46. The company has a market capitalization of $131.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.09. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.94% and a negative return on equity of 51.42%. The company had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $1.10 per share. 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 (DPR) is 33.43%.

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.