Chesley Taft & Associates LLC Has $5.18 Million Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

Chesley Taft & Associates LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 0.3% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 20,316 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after selling 65 shares during the quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC’s holdings in Lowe’s Companies were worth $5,175,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 12.5% in the first quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC now owns 1,940 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management raised its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 4.6% in the first quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 46,004 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $11,719,000 after acquiring an additional 2,023 shares during the last quarter. ERn Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the first quarter valued at approximately $225,000. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 196.6% in the first quarter. Franklin Street Advisors Inc. NC now owns 50,102 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $12,762,000 after purchasing an additional 33,210 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Agate Pass Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Lowe’s Companies by 0.5% in the first quarter. Agate Pass Investment Management LLC now owns 13,217 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock valued at $3,367,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Lowe’s Companies Price Performance

NYSE:LOW traded up $1.07 on Thursday, hitting $219.85. 2,654,196 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,472,512. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $225.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $228.22. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $181.85 and a 52 week high of $262.49. The company has a market cap of $125.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.08.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 21st. The home improvement retailer reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.94 by $0.12. Lowe’s Companies had a net margin of 8.46% and a negative return on equity of 48.52%. The firm had revenue of $21.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.67 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 12.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 24th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 24th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.27%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 35.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on LOW shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $265.00 to $268.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Tuesday, May 21st. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $250.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Gordon Haskett reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $245.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $251.33.

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.