California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 50,389 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

California Public Employees Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,096,543 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 50,389 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $244,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised 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 during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. 74.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of LOW stock traded up $1.92 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $232.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 204,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,507,030. The stock has a market capitalization of $132.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.13. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a one year low of $181.85 and a one year high of $262.49. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $239.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.11.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $18.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.47 billion. Lowe’s Companies had a negative return on equity of 51.42% and a net margin of 8.94%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 17.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Lowe’s Companies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LOW. Mizuho began coverage on Lowe’s Companies in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $190.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Zelman & Associates reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Robert W. Baird upgraded Lowe’s Companies from an “average” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $250.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $252.52.

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.