Clearbridge Investments LLC Buys 985 Shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its stake in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 324,318 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 985 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.06% of Lowe’s Companies worth $80,042,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 10,099 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $2,735,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the third quarter valued at about $2,073,000. Erste Asset Management GmbH purchased a new position in Lowe’s Companies in the third quarter worth about $5,976,000. Bamco Inc. NY grew its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 71.6% during the 3rd quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 290,107 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $78,575,000 after purchasing an additional 121,058 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 2,869.2% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 67,580 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $18,309,000 after purchasing an additional 65,304 shares during the last quarter. 74.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW opened at $233.38 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $130.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $211.80 and a 1 year high of $287.01. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $245.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $257.24.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.83 by $0.10. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.19% and a negative return on equity of 47.55%. The company had revenue of $18.55 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.29 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a $1.15 dividend. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 23rd. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 37.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on LOW shares. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $296.00 to $269.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 24th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas upgraded Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Mizuho lowered their target price on Lowe’s Companies from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $279.71.

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.