American Century Companies Inc. Grows Position in Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW)

American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,351,674 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 42,815 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of Lowe’s Companies worth $333,593,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Plancorp LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Plancorp LLC now owns 2,005 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $495,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the last quarter. Runnymede Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Lowe’s Companies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 45.5% during the 4th quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 53,767 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $13,270,000 after purchasing an additional 16,816 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC grew its position in Lowe’s Companies by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 7,028 shares of the home improvement retailer’s stock worth $1,734,000 after purchasing an additional 1,554 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Lowe’s Companies in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Lowe’s Companies to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies from $292.00 to $285.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of Lowe’s Companies in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $280.83.

Lowe’s Companies Stock Up 0.4 %

Lowe’s Companies stock opened at $227.09 on Friday. Lowe’s Companies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $211.80 and a 52-week high of $287.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.99 and a 200-day simple moving average of $257.70.

Lowe’s Companies (NYSE:LOW) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The home improvement retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $18.55 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.29 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will post 11.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Lowe’s Companies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Lowe’s Companies’s payout ratio is 37.67%.

About Lowe’s Companies

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.